Let’s liven up golf in the Olympics: We’ve got 5 ideas that will make this more exciting

August 5, 2021

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Golf is back in the Olympics for the second consecutive Summer Games, and some of the best golfers in the world are playing. And some aren’t.

But the return of golf to the Summer Games has re-ignited more than just the debate over who is and isn’t participating. When golf returned to the Olympics in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, critics complained about the stock format with a four-day, 72-hole no-cut competition.

Why, the critics asked, should this look like most of the tournaments on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, the LPGA or the Ladies European Tour? This is the Olympics. Do something to shake that up, the critics howled.

That howling has returned in 2021 in Tokyo. It’s not that the format doesn’t produce legitimate gold, silver and bronze winners, but it might be a missed opportunity to do golf differently.

Here’s five things golf and the Olympics might want to consider:

Xander Schauffele of United States jokes with Paul Casey’s caddie, John McLaren, during the final round of the men’s golf competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Kawagoe, Japan. Photo by Andy Wong/Associated Press

This would make golf look like many other sports in the Olympics, with seedings and brackets. You could still have stroke play for everyone who qualifies to get to the Olympics, but after 36 holes cut the field to 32 and play a bracket. Or toss in some pool play like they do in Olympic basketball and soccer. Award two bronze medals for the golfers who make the semifinals. A head-to-head match for gold and silver could be great.

Collin Morikawa of the United States tees off on the first hole during the final round of the men’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Four days is traditional in golf, but this is the Olympics, not the U.S. Open. Making the event a bit more of a sprint would serve two purposes. It would put more emphasis on scoring in the first round, and it could open up the two-week Olympic period for more golf.

Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson pose ahead of the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika at Vallda Golf & Country Club on June 08, 2021 in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)

Some Olympics sports, such as table tennis and regular tennis, have men and women competing side by side. The PGA Tour and the LPGA haven’t figured out how to do this yet, but if the Olympics in 2024 in Paris has a mixed-team event, it might just spur the biggest tours in the United States to start one of their own. And it would be interesting to see, say, Rory McIlroy and Leona Maguire playing for Team Ireland.

Rory McIlroy of Ireland watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during the third round of the men’s golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Kawagoe, Japan. Photo by Andy Wong/Associated Press

McIlroy said this week that the men’s Olympic competition feels like a watered-down World Golf Championship with no cut but with plenty of golfers well down the Official World Golf Rankings who may not have much of a shot of winning. Increasing the field could help that, allowing more of the top golfers from big countries like the United States to compete. Don’t make it a 156-player field, but 90 might work instead of 60, still with limitations on the number of players from a single country. Five or six Americans or Great Britain golfers would benefit the field.

Suthavee Chanachai tees off on the second hole during the first round of stroke play at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. (Darren Carroll/USGA)

OK, this is probably a last resort if top professionals continue to skip the Games. And let’s be honest, the Olympics gave up on the idea of amateurs when the biggest NBA stars formed the Dream Team in 1992. There could be some other problems with amateurs, though. Do all of the smaller countries of the world that can send a pro or two to the Olympics have amateurs who could truly be competitive? And would amateurs attract the same interest in golf being played in the Olympics as the pros? Probably not.

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