Why Olympic golf still matters to Scheffler, McIlroy, more

Many of the world’s best golfers have spent the past four months playing in four of the world’s most prestigious tournaments — the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open and The Open.

In August, many of them will compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour, which awards the winner a $25 million bonus.

So where does an Olympic gold medal rank compared to the coveted green jacket that comes with winning the Masters or the Claret Jug that goes to the golfer who finishes first in the Open Championship? Especially in a game where money seems to be the only thing that matters?

This year’s men’s Olympic golf tournament, which begins Thursday at Le Golf National outside Paris, is only the fifth time golf has been included in the Summer Games. Golf was officially recognized as a sport in 1900 and 1904 but was not part of the Olympics again until 2016.

“I’ve been asked this question a lot: Where will the Olympic medal rank in terms of my career achievements?” Ireland’s Rory McIlroy said. “And it’s something I won’t be able to answer until everything is said and done.

“I don’t know if anyone will be able to stay close to the big players. We have our four events a year at the gold level. But I think this will, in the long run, be in between that. .”

It’s about the face of McIlroy, who qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He skipped the competition due to concerns about the Zika virus, and later became upset about the Olympics because it would make him decide to represent Ireland or Great Britain.

When asked if he would watch the Rio Olympics, McIlroy said, “Maybe the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the important things.”

“I don’t feel like I let the game down,” McIlroy said at the 2016 Open Championship. “I didn’t get into golf to try to grow the game. I got into golf to win tournaments and win majors.”

McIlroy competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and fell short in the seven-man tournament for the bronze medal, which was won by CT Pan of Chinese Taipei. At the time, McIlroy said, “I’ve been saying all day I’ve never tried so hard in my life to finish third. It makes me even more determined to go to Paris and try to take it. It’s disappointing to leave here without any hardware.”

After a forgettable majors season, in which McIlroy bogeyed the final four holes of the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and missed the title at The Open at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland, the Olympics may mean even more to him now. You have a chance to add a coveted trophy — even if you haven’t seen it often.

“It would be an achievement – certainly of the year,” McIlroy said. “I think for me, it’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the four majors in 10 years. It would probably be another, if not the biggest, of my career in the last 10 years.”

Xander Schauffele, who earned his two major wins at the PGA Championship and the Open Championship this season, is one of only two golfers in the last 120 years to win an Olympic gold medal. He won gold at the 2021 COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics, five years after England’s Justin Rose finished first in the golf tournament in Rio.

Even Schauffele admits that going for a gold medal doesn’t carry the same weight as winning the big one — at least not yet.

“That’s a good question, but it’s tricky,” Schauffele said. “Golf was in the Olympics and then out of the Olympics. So I think a lot of kids were watching Tiger. [Woods]or if you’re a little older, watch Jack [Nicklaus] or Arnie [Palmer], old legends of the game. You watch them win grades.

“The majors are what I grew up watching. They’re two very different things to me. I think the gold medal, it’s always been celebrated. Maybe in 30, 40 years, it’s something that’s going to be really special as it gets more attention and it’s back in the eyes or the normal state of being in the Olympics. .”

The 60-man field for the Olympic tournament includes the top seven golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking, but only 11 of the top 20 due to qualifying standards.

Each country is allowed a maximum of four golfers, but each country’s team can include no more than two golfers not ranked in the OWGR top 15. The field is solid but not as high as it could be.

“You watch other games, that’s how it is,” said Ireland’s Shane Lowry. “If you don’t run the time and you don’t qualify, you’re not in. Look at the American [track and field] nationals, the biggest race of the year, Jamaican running. If they run a bad race, even though they may be the best in the world, they are not here to compete. “

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa represent the U.S. Seven others are ranked in the OWGR’s top 20, most notably U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who competes in the LIV Golf League.

“I know we’re not used to that in golf — that the big events have the best courses,” Lowry said. “But you know, there [are] a few players maybe that would make it better, but it’s still the Olympics and we’re all ready to play for our country and we’re all here to win a medal.”

Scheffler, who has won six times on the PGA Tour this season, including a second victory at the Masters in April, is once again the favorite to win in Paris. Although Scheffler says he tries to put equal emphasis on every tournament he plays, he knows winning a gold medal in the US will be different.

“It would be very special,” Scheffler said. “It’s not often you get to compete in the Olympics, so to be able to have a lifetime medal would be something very special.”