Paris 2024 Olympic Games: calendar, date, location, history… Everything you need to know about golf

US Open Golf Championship at Pinehurst – Round 4 MAXPPP – ERIK S. LESSER

l'essentiel Avant les Jeux Olympiques (26 juillet-11 août), découvrez le mode d’emploi de toutes les disciplines. Focus sur le golf.

The origins

Golf consists of putting a 42.67 mm ball into a 108 mm hole more or less distant from the starting point, in a minimum of strokes and hitting it the help of a club. It is one of the oldest codified sports: its rules were established in 1754 in Saint Andrews in Scotland.

Its origins go back even further since a form of this game, played in the Netherlands under the name "colf" or "kolven", is said to have arrived on the British Isles in the 15th century.

JO 2024: l'équipe de France de golf olympique en préparation à Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines pic.twitter.com/3uYi1nE3kJ

— BFM Paris Île-de-France (@BFMParis) July 11, 2024

Practiced by British officers, mainly Scottish, deployed to the four corners of the world, golf has become widely internationalized but has no Olympic tradition.

In 1900 in Paris, two tournaments were organized. In 1904 in Saint-Louis (United States), the ladies' tournament was replaced by a team tournament. Golf then disappeared from the program until Rio in 2016.

The Trials

Like all major international tournaments (with the exception of the Ryder Cup), the Olympic Games are played in the “stroke play” format. All shots played are counted and the player whose total is the lowest after four rounds on an 18-hole course wins the tournament.

Très fier de représenter la France pour les JO 2024 à Paris! Rdv au golf national le 1er août ! pic.twitter.com/GlTGeZ5Ip0

— Matthieu Pavon (@matthieupavon) June 21, 2024

The only difference with the professional circuit is that the entire field (60 men and 60 players selected) plays the four rounds, without "cut". In the event of a tie between players for a medal, one or more play-off holes will be played.

The 15 best in the world are selected and the fields are completed by players in the order of their world ranking with a maximum of four players per nation. All continents are represented, as well as the host country.

The calendar

Men's tournament: from 1st to 4th août

Women's tournament: from 7 to 10 August

The site

The tournaments will be played on the Golf National course in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018. It is made up of 18 holes which must be completed in 71 estimated strokes (per 71) distributed over 6,649 m for men and 72 estimated strokes (per 72) distributed over 5,854 m for women.

42nd Ryder Cup – Day Three – Le Golf National MAXPPP – Adam Davy

To be continued

Scottie Scheffler obviously! The American world No.1 flies over the circuit. He will have among his main opponents his compatriot and outgoing Olympic champion Xander Schauffele.

The timeless Rory McIlroy, always a contender and crowd favorite, would like to add Olympic gold to his collection. The Northern Irishman had given up playing in Rio for fear of the Zika virus and finished just off the podium in Tokyo.

In the women's tournament, world No.1 and outgoing Olympic champion Nelly Korda will lead the field in which New Zealand's Lydia Ko will aim for a third podium in a row after silver at Rio and bronze in Tokyo.

Also read: Paris 2024 Olympic Games: "Tony Estanguet's not happy when I talk about that", why the French Golf Federation is unhappy ?

South Korea, whose players have won at least one Major per year since 2010, will have three representatives in Paris: Jin Young Ko (gold medalist in Rio), Amy Yan and Hyo-Joo Kim.

With Céline Boutier, France can dream of a podium in a sport where it is not a power.