An Olympic Size Conundrum

For the third Olympics in a row, golf will be a part of the Summer Games. The men’s tournament will be played from the 1st through the 4th and the Women’s best will play the following week. Olympic golf has yet to solidify its status in the golf world. That’s to say, I, and most other golf fans haven’t determined how to weigh the event. With most golf events you know what they mean, they have an identity. The majors mean the most, a huge gap then the Players, followed by signature events such as the Genesis and API, and the rest falls into place. And then there is the Ryder Cup which is the most important tournament for most golfers, especially since it happens only once every two years. The Olympics don’t mean more than a major, suggesting that, which NBC has done, is disingenuous. However, there is a path for it to mean more than any tournament outside of the Ryder Cup and majors. The tournament has two things going for it; it is only once every four years and golfers are playing for something more than themselves and money. And I think the Olympics has struggled to find its place in the golf world is largely because of its lack of history, because of the iconic moments greats like Seve, Tiger, Jack, etc. have produced. This is the third straight cycle golf has been part of the Summer Games, but it wasn’t played between 1904 and 2012. One of the many reasons events like the majors and Ryder Cup are so revered is because of their history. History is something money cannot buy. And the PGA Tour has tried to do that with the FedEx Cup, attaching a winning purse of more than 8x what Xander Schauffele received for winning The Open. And yet Xander and most other golfers would not trade a Claret Jug for any amount of FedEx Cup victories. This event is going to need some iconic moments to gain its identity. If it produces a dramatic finish with a worthy winner, and with the momentum it will gain being played in the United States in 2028 at a familiar venue in Riviera Country Club, it could emerge as one of the premier golf tournaments.