Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
By Nick Villano
32. Golf
Truthfully, this is where the tide starts to turn. Golf isn’t everyone’s cup of tea as a spectator sport, but there’s no denying it has a huge following. People love the Masters. The U.S. Open will do gangbusters in Nielsen ratings. It’s a global sport that brings in eyes from everywhere. So, why does it fall so low on these rankings?
It has never really been treated as a premier event at the Olympics. The way it was held outside the Olympics for so long did take away some moments that likely would have been iconic. Olympics had golf as part of the program in 1900 and 1904. Then, it took a century off. Golf didn’t return until 2016. That means no Arnold Palmer, no Jack Nicklaus, and of course, no Tiger Woods.
The rules for golf are also pretty strange. There are pretty extensive restrictions so all countries can get a chance, but it removes even the veil of a best-on-best tournament. The Olympics uses the Official World Golf Rankings to determine who gets in. There are 60 men and 60 women invited to play. It would be great if we just found the 60 greatest golfers in the world and that was the cut off. It would also build excitement as we discussed qualifications. Instead, the top 15 players are eligible for the Olympic Games, but there’s a catch. Each country is limited to a maximum of four golfers (if they have four in the top 15 only).
The restrictions seem unnecessary. We understand ignoring certain rules to get fan favorites from the home country in sports. That’s fine. We love a good underdog story. At least we get some interesting matchups, like World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler taking on defending gold medalist Xander Schauffele.