Miles Bennett
Golf is played over four rounds at the Olympic Games. The sport was introduced at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and has been played at every Summer Games since, including Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024, and Los Angeles 2028. The Olympic golf tournament features four 18-hole rounds, totaling 72 holes, with the winner being the golfer who completes the course in the fewest strokes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of rounds | 4 |
| Number of holes | 72 (18 per round) |
| Number of players | 120 (60 per gender) |
| Format | Individual stroke-play |
| Winner | Player with the fewest strokes to complete 72 holes |
| Playoff | In case of a tie, a sudden-death playoff is held |
| Cut | No cut after two rounds, all 60 players advance to the final two rounds |
| Venue | Le Golf National, Guyancourt, France |
| Dates | 1-10 August 2024 (Men's: 1-4 August, Women's: 7-10 August) |
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What You'll Learn
The 2024 Olympic Golf competition format
The 2024 Olympic Golf competition will be held at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France, approximately 26 km outside Paris. The venue is notable for hosting the 2018 Ryder Cup, where the Europeans defeated the U.S. team.
The competition will follow an individual stroke-play format, similar to events on the PGA and LPGA tours. There will be no cut after 36 holes, and all 60 players in the men's and women's fields will progress to the final two rounds. The men's tournament will take place from Thursday, 1 August, to Sunday, 4 August, and the women's tournament will follow, beginning on Wednesday, 7 August, and concluding on Saturday, 10 August.
Each tournament will consist of four 18-hole rounds, with a total of 72 holes played over four days. The golfers' scores will be recorded relative to par, and the winner will be the player who records the fewest total strokes to complete all 72 holes. In the event of a tie, those players will compete in a sudden-death playoff.
The 120 athletes competing in the golf competition will be determined by the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR), based on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible, with a limit of four players from a given country. The remaining spots will be awarded to players ranked sixteenth onwards, with a maximum of two per country.
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The number of players competing
The top 15 world-ranked players are eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Following that, players are eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of up to two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. This continues until the number of 59 athletes is reached, with one spot reserved for the host country. Each of the five continents of the Olympic Movement is guaranteed at least one athlete in each of the women's and men's events.
Some of the big names in the men's tournament include world number one Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, and Rory McIlroy. The women's tournament will feature Rose Zhang, Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Mone Inami, Lydia Ko, and more.
The men's tournament will take place from Thursday, August 1, to Sunday, August 4, and the women's tournament will follow, beginning on Wednesday, August 7, and concluding on Saturday, August 4.
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The rules of Olympic Golf
Golf at the Olympic Games follows an individual stroke-play format, similar to events on the PGA and LPGA tours, as well as other major championships. The player who completes the course using the fewest shots wins. This is called the stroke-play scoring format and is the most widely used format in golf tournaments.
Each golf course consists of 18 holes, the first nine of which are called the front nine, and the remaining nine are called the back nine. The Olympics features four rounds of 18 holes each, totalling 72 holes.
Players may carry a maximum of 14 golf clubs in their bag during a round. Clubs can be swapped out during a tournament, but only between rounds or if a club is damaged through no fault of the player. A caddie may accompany a player on the course, carrying the player's clubs and assisting with strategy, yardage, reading greens, and club selection.
In the event of a tie, a sudden-death playoff will ensue. The tied golfers will keep playing until the tie is broken.
The International Golf Federation (IGF) uses the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to create the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) as a method of determining eligibility. The top 15 world-ranked players are eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country.
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The history of Olympic Golf
Golf has had a sporadic history as an Olympic sport, with its journey marked by long absences and more recent triumphant returns.
The sport made its Olympic debut at the 1900 Paris Games, held at the Compiègne Club. The competition featured both men's and women's events, an unusual occurrence for the time. The inclusion of women in the 1900 Olympics was also notable, as it was the first Olympic Games to include female athletes. The inaugural golf tournament in 1900 was won by Charles Sands of the USA, with Margaret Abbott, also from the USA, winning the women's championship.
In the 1904 St. Louis Games, golf shifted to a match-play format and only included a men's competition. The United States continued its dominance, with Canadian George Lyon taking the gold medal. Despite its early presence in the Olympics, golf was then removed from the roster and entered a long period of absence that would last more than a century.
During this time, golf flourished independently, growing into a major global sport with prestigious tournaments such as The Masters, The Open Championship, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. The professional tours, notably the PGA and European Tours, expanded, attracting a diverse and international pool of talent.
The campaign to reintroduce golf to the Olympics gained momentum in the early 21st century, driven by a desire to further globalize the sport. In 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to bring golf back for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, marking a significant milestone. The Rio Olympics featured a stroke-play format for both men and women, with England's Justin Rose winning the men's gold and South Korea's Inbee Park capturing the women's title.
Golf was also contested at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where two Americans, Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda, clinched gold medals. The sport will once again be featured in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, marking the third time it will be included in the Summer Games.
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The qualification pathway
The IGF uses the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to create the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) as a method of determining eligibility. The top 15 world-ranked players are eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Following that, players are eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of up to two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. This process continues until the number of 59 athletes is reached, including continental places. One spot is reserved for the host country, and each of the five continents of the Olympic Movement is guaranteed at least one athlete in each of the women's and men's events. If they have not automatically qualified, the continental places will be allocated to the highest-ranked athlete(s) on the OGR from the continent(s) without representation.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, the men's qualification was based on the IGF world ranking list of 17 June 2024, and the women's qualification was based on the list of 24 June 2024. The qualification pathway and format for Paris remained the same as the previous two editions, with 60 players qualifying for each gender-based event over a four-day-long, 72-hole individual stroke play tournament.
Golf was not always an Olympic sport. It was contested in the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games but was then removed. It made a comeback in 2016 at the Rio Games and has been part of the Olympics since then, including at the 2020 Tokyo Games and the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics and 2028 Los Angeles Games.
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Frequently asked questions
There are four rounds of 18 holes each, totalling 72 holes.
There are 60 players in each of the men's and women's events, totalling 120 athletes.
Olympic Golf uses an individual stroke-play format, similar to events on the PGA and LPGA tours.
Unlike PGA and LPGA tours, there is no cut in Olympic Golf. All 60 players advance to the final two rounds.
Golf was played at the 2020 Tokyo Games, following its return to the Olympics in 2016 at the Rio Games.
