Will golf be included in Paris Olympics 2024? Know more about the sabbatical of the sport from the Olympics for over a century

By Nandika Chand

Modified Mar 19, 2024 12:52 GMT

Golf, which made a return to the 2016 Olympics in Rio after a 112-year absence, will have two tournaments at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Men and women golfers will play their Individual Stroke Play rounds in August.

Initially introduced in 1900 at the Olympic Games in Paris, golf was removed in the year 1904 as a sport from the Summer Games over an eligibility dispute with the Olympic committee. All British players withdrew, as per Estero Country Club, due to lack of organization and miscommunication.

"Even after a support committee was formed, it (golf) failed to return due to the lack of entries and sadly, golf disappeared from the Olympic games for over a century," an Estero Country Club statement read.

This changed in 2009 when the International Olympic Committee voted to bring back golf to the Olympics in 2016. Golf was also eventful at the 2020 Tokyo Games where Nelly Korda and Xander Schauffele claimed gold for Team USA in the women's and men's event.

Paris 2024 is set to feature the world's best golfers, including Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm.

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120 athletes will compete in golf at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Golf - Olympics: Day 15 at 2016 Rio Olympics

The Paris Olympics, which begins on July 26 and runs through to 11 August, will feature 120 athletes - 60 men and 60 women - in the golf competition. According to Olympics.com, France will secure two quota places, one each in the men's and women's tournaments. It added:

"The other 118 quota places (59 per gender) will be decided by the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) in two years' time."

Points will be awarded to the golfers as per their final positions in the respective event. Stronger fields will get more points as the International Golf Federation (IGF) has approved a points distribution schedule.

It should be noted that qualification, in golf, is determined via ranking. Olympics.com said:

"The top 15 players on the OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings) consist of up to the top two eligible players per country, as long as that country does not already have at least two players in the top 15."

Furthermore, the National Olympic Committees (NOC) have the power to decide the representatives of their respective countries as they have exclusive authority to do so.