Every Olympics always brings audiences countless surprises, from comebacks, record-breaking performances, to the tireless fighting spirit of the athletes. The same thing happened to golf lovers at the Olympics.
Unexpected attraction
“It’s unbelievable,” Irish golfer Rory McIlroy could not help but exclaim in front of the television camera. No one could have expected that the Olympic men’s golf competition would attract such a huge audience.
For those who have been involved in this sport for many years, professional athletes have never been surprised by the gloomy atmosphere of this sport at the Olympics. This happened at the two most recent Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan). And the same situation is likely to happen, especially when the competitions take place just two weeks after The Open Championship - the oldest golf tournament in the world.
Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler cries as the U.S. national anthem is played during the Olympic medal ceremony for men’s golf Sunday. (Matt York / Associated Press)
Reporters have captured images of golfers leisurely strolling on the Le Golf National course - the venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup - to practice. There is no tension present. This is still a four-round, 72-hole tournament. And perhaps the difference lies in the costumes - the official Olympic competition clothes of the countries.
However, everyone was wrong. An estimated 30,000 spectators were present at Le Golf National to admire the golfers in action. At any entrance, fans were always crowded and lined up in long lines.
More than 30,000 spectators filled Le Golf National/Getty
Jason Day, who has won 13 times on the PGA Tour, confirmed that he heard the cheers of the crowd from the practice putting green. It is a huge difference from previous Olympics. Suddenly, the opening shot became the most tense moment of his career.
Australian golfer Min Woo Lee said he had to try to stay calm on the first tee: “I was pretty impressed with the crowd out here early on. I think it was really good."
Clearly, those emotions - the meaning of representing the country, of being a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics - have become real in every athlete. It has been a long time since golfers have felt proud as if the sport had become a real piece of an Olympics.
However, when asked if people believe that this strange thing will continue in the next Olympics? No one is sure about this.
Golf's ironic fate
Up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 33rd Olympics, golf has only appeared five times. Incidentally, golf made its Olympic debut in Paris in 1900. However, it was only considered a demonstration event and did not award medals. The female athlete Margaret Abbott won the championship and was awarded a gold-plated antique Saxon porcelain bowl.
After four years, golf made its second appearance on the list of Olympic sports. However, this sport was removed from the 1908 Olympics just two days before the opening ceremony. There were many times when golf was "green-lighted" but there were not enough athletes to compete. In October 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that golf would be included in the Rio 2016 Olympic program. Golf has returned to Rio, Tokyo and now Paris 2024.
Golf has only returned to the Olympics for the last three editions (Matt York/Associated Press)
Professional golfers who want to compete in the Olympics must base their participation on the Official World Golf Ranking for men and the Rolex Women’s Rankings for women. To ensure that the sport has a wide range of countries competing, the IOC stipulates that each country can only have a maximum of four golfers (in case all four are in the top 15). Otherwise, only the two highest-ranked golfers in their country qualify. This creates a challenge that has caused many Olympics to not have enough athletes to compete.
More importantly, like football, the Olympic tournament has never been considered as important as the four prestigious tournaments of the year such as The Open Championship, US Open, The Masters and PGA Championship.
Tiger Woods once said that professional golfers would rather win the green jacket (The Masters) or the Claret Jug (The Open Championship) than an Olympic medal.
Read more: Special Agents Train Years to Protect Team USA golfers at the 2024 Paris Olympics
A turning point at the Paris Olympics
No one is sure how golf will change at the Olympics in four years. After three Olympic Games, this question is often asked. But things may change after this tournament.
Witnessing the cheers of the audience, golf lovers are raising expectations when the next Olympics takes place in Los Angeles in 2028. The event in the US promises to be even more explosive, many times more than what happened in Europe.
Not only that, recently, the CEO of the International Golf Federation Antony Scanlon has confirmed the plan to organize a 36-hole mixed team event (including alternate rounds and best-ball rounds) in addition to the 72-hole individual stroke play events for men and women. The IOC is also seriously considering this proposal.
In 2016, Irish golfer Rory McIlroy affirmed that most athletes are looking forward to the mixed team event, when this sport returns after 112 years of absence. This will certainly create a different attraction, raising the meaning of representing the country to participate in the world's largest sports arena.
Rory McIlroy walks to the cheers of tens of thousands of fans in Paris/ Getty
If that becomes a reality in Los Angeles, McIlroy’s teammate Leona Maguire and golfers from other countries (such as Scottie Scheffler of the US, Jin Young Ko of Korea or Charley Hull of England...) will certainly welcome it warmly, if they qualify.
The 72-hole stroke play event will certainly never be completely eliminated, as it is considered the standard measure of determining the best golfers. The addition of the new event is seen as a start to improving golf’s position in the Olympic Games. But will that be enough to help the sport gain more attention at each Olympics?
Golf is showing its appeal on the biggest playground on the planet. 14 countries have athletes in the top 40 of the World Golf Rankings. The sport is on the verge of awarding more sets of medals to athletes instead of the current three.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 329 events in 32 sports. A total of 987 medals will be awarded. Golf now accounts for 0.61% of those. The sport is on the periphery of the Olympics, which is more recognized by audiences around the world than any golf tournament.
In fact, football, the king of sports, is the only event that makes a difference. Not many people know what the PGA Tour or The Open Championship are, but almost everyone knows the Olympic arena. Golfers themselves understand this.
Entering the Olympic arena, French golfer Victor Perez experienced for the first time the feeling of standing in a room with the world's top talents from his country.
Perez thinks it's great to be in the same room with a 70m javelin thrower, a swimmer who swims 100m in 45 seconds or another athlete with a talent for equestrian. They are all outstanding individuals who have achieved extraordinary achievements. The Olympics have always been so great and golf is surprisingly small.
