Can USA win Gold medal in golf at 2024 Paris Olympics? Exploring the possibility
Golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics will begin on August 1 at the Le Golf National Course. The field will feature 60 golfers in both the men's and women's fields.
There will be four golfers representing USA in the men's event including Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa. In the women's event, there will be three American golfers in the field, including Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, and Rose Zhang.
Nelly Korda and Xander Schauffele are the defending champions for the event in their respective fields. Team USA is entering the Paris Olympics with a strong chance of winning gold in golf.
USA Men's golf team at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Scottie Scheffler enters the Paris Olympics as the favorite golfer to win with odds of +340 according to Forbes. He is followed by the defending champion, Xander Schauffele, who enters the tournament with odds of +600. Collin Morikawa has odds of +1200, while Wyndham Clark enters with odds of +3400.
Scottie Scheffler has had the most successful PGA Tour season in 2024, taking an impressive 6 wins including a win at the Masters. Xander Schauffele might have won only two tournaments this year, but both of them were major championships. After winning the PGA Championship earlier this year, Schauffele will enter the Olympics fresh off a win at the Open Championship.
Collin Morikawa has had one runner-up finish this year as well as four other top 5 finishes. Wyndham Clark has one win under his belt in 2024, taking victory at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, Clark has faded as the year has gone by, finishing T56 at the US Open and failing to make the cut at the Open Championship.
Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler are in form to pick up a win at the Paris Olympics. However, they will face tough competition from other top-ranked golfers including the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm
USA Women's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics
On the women's side, World No. 1 Nelly Korda is the outright favorite to pick up a win at Le Golf National. Korda enters the Paris Olympics with odds of +600 according to Sports Illustrated. Lilia Vu has odds of +900 while Rose Zhang has odds of +1600.
All three of the American women are ranked in the top 5 odds wise to win the golf event this year. Like Scheffler, Korda too has had a fantastic season this year, winning six events on the LPGA Tour, including one major win at the Chevron Championship.
Lilia Vu is currently ranked second in the world and picked up a win earlier this year at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Breakout star Rose Zhang turned pro in 2022 but with a world ranking of eight, she has already earned her position in the Olympic team. Zhang won the Cognizant Founders Cup earlier this year.
With all three of the golfers ranking in the top 5 odds-wise, USA is favored to win a gold in the women's event as well. However, Atthaya Thitikul and Jin Young Ko are other favorites to win gold at the Paris Olympics.