A glance at the programme for the upcoming Paris Olympics makes you wonder why there was so much fuss attached to golf making a return to the Games in 2016. Yet fuss there was; from players who couldn’t be bothered travelling to Rio to others who questioned whether any sport where a gold medal can never be the pinnacle was worthy of inclusion. The strength of negativity made people ponder whether golf’s Olympic alliance would last.
Eight years on, the dynamic around Olympic golf has shifted beyond comprehension. Participation numbers in the sport are soaring. Golfers are generally unsure what that gold medal means in the context of their career – in fairness, only four living male and female players have sampled one – but have learned to embrace the Olympics. After what looked to be stress-free success at Royal Troon on Sunday, Xander Schauffele will land in Paris not only as the defending champion but with the Claret Jug in his hand luggage. Schauffele is the first player to win the Open and US PGA Championship in the same year since Rory McIlroy’s halcyon summer of 2014. The American has his eyes on a career grand slam.
