The Olympic men's golf tournament for the Paris 2024 Games promises to be an exciting event featuring many of the world's top players.
Fresh from his triumph at Royal Troon at The Open, Xander Schauffele will attempt to defend his Olympic title in the face of stiff opposition from within Team USA.
Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa and 2024 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler join him in a four-pronged American assault on the medals with Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama attempting to improve on their T4 finishes at the Tokyo Games.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood will spearhead the British challenge while Victor Perez and Matthieu Pavon will hope to capitalise in front of their home fans at Le Golf National — the iconic venue that staged the 2018 Ryder Cup.
- TOMMY FLEETWOOD WIN AND EACH/WAY
- ALEX NOREN WIN AND EACH/WAY
- TOM KIM WIN AND EACH/WAY
Fleetwood Fancied To Fare Well
Although the Olympic golf event is run like any other on the main tours, strokeplay deciding the medals after four rounds in four days, there are still elements that make it unique.
The field is pared down to just 60 players and the motivating factor for them is not money, or ranking points, but glory that resonates beyond the sport itself.
Another element to the 2024 Olympic golf tournament that differs to the past two editions is that a number of the players have acquired plenty of experience of the course.
Le Golf National has staged the Open de France since 2002 and famously hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018, when Europe ran out easy winners.
Fleetwood was one of the stars of that competition as he amassed four of Europe’s 17 and a half points by winning four of his five matches over the three-day event.
Partnering Francesco Molinari, the British rookie dished out big defeats to the likes of Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed on Friday and Saturday before running out of gas and losing to Tony Finau in Sunday’s singles.
The Southport native had won the Open de France at the par-71 set-up 12 months earlier and is having an under-the-radar sort of season after finishing tied-third at the Masters this spring.
Fleetwood, as we have seen from his Ryder Cup performances, is someone who excels in a team environment and although Olympic golf remains an individual event, being part of a Great Britain team in Paris could inspire him to hit the heights again.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD WIN AND EACH/WAY
Noren’s Course Knowledge A Benefit
Like Fleetwood, Noren is a previous winner of the Open de France, having tamed Le Golf National when he posted a score of 277 to take the tournament by a stroke in 2018.
That win came four months before he joined Fleetwood on the Ryder Cup team in Paris and, although he was not as integral to the success, he will still have fond memories of making the putt that clinched the victory over the US team.
Noren, who beat Bryson DeChambeau 1 Up, won two of his three matches that week and always seems to be in contention at Le Golf National.
He has a win, two top-10s and a top-20 finish from his last four starts at the course.
Results such as his 12th-place finish at the PGA Championship and a top-10 finish at the Scottish Open are further reasons why he should go well at the Olympics.
ALEX NOREN WIN AND EACH/WAY
Kim’s Shoulds Be In The Mix
Tom Kim gave a clue as to his intentions for Paris when the US-based pro chose to cross the Atlantic to play in last year’s Open de France.
The 22-year-old was on a reconnaissance mission ahead of the Olympic Games, which will hold more personal significance to him than most others.
All able-bodied South Korean males are obligated to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military once they turn 19.
They can postpone the date of their service but without a significant cultural justification, like an Olympic medal, service is mandatory.
That means Kim, who hails from Seoul, will need to make the podium in Paris or prepare to miss a significant chunk of his golf career soon.
Kim carded a seven-under 64 to take a one-shot first-round lead at Le Golf National last year before falling away slightly to finish tied-sixth, but his experience of the event should give him a good chance of challenging when the stakes are higher in August.
TOM KIM WIN AND EACH/WAY
