The Olympic rings are sitting after the first round at Le Golf National this week.
Sean Zak
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – There are plenty of signs that we’re at the Olympics, what with the five intersecting rings and “Paris 2024” emblazoned across Le Golf National. But the best Did you sign that the Olympics golf game is being contested this week? That came on the 16th tee box on Monday afternoon.
Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark were 1 for Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, who, despite rocking the red, white and blue, jokingly called themselves Team China (an ode to their ancestors) in the four-ball game. All four were a little pale due to the downhill par-3, distracted by the gusty wind to see if anyone had snuck up. As they started to descend the mountain towards the green area, a voice called out.
“Is it right if a field does it just play one shot and then move on to the next?”
The staff turned to see a very smiling Rafael Campos, there on behalf of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, but this week a country competing in the Olympics. Yes, the field was allowed to play.
All good vibes here in France. People arrive early and arrive late. All is not well, except in the suburbs of Paris. Lots of cropped shirts. A number of female professionals have come out, too, mixing their driving cycles among the men. More rain through the weekend but we are tracking a high of 93 F on Tuesday. Tom Kim thinks it’s going to be tough. We’ll see! Below are a few highlights from golf’s – and golfers’ – debut at the 2024 Olympics.
Groups? Filter!
Golf in the Olympics is an individual sport. Rory McIlroy is not getting inspired by Shane Lowry’s good scores. (At least not literally.) And we’re talking about a very individualistic game. Collin Morikawa will tell you all season that he wants nothing more than to beat Scottie Scheffler. That doesn’t change this week, but until the batting starts, the stadium will operate as teams.
Wyndham Clark and Morikawa spent a good amount of time last week together, visited the same place in Portugal, then boarded a boat together to the Opening Ceremony, took countless photos together and will even hold a joint press conference on Wednesday afternoon. The rare thing they haven’t met is their match on Monday, when Morikawa’s par on the 18th helped him and Schauffele won 1.
Walking around Le Golf National, you wouldn’t believe this was a team competition. (So maybe it should be?) The Swedes, Ludvig Åberg and Alex Noren, train together. There were eight Danes at the front and eight Aussies at the back – Jason Day and Min Woo Lee in green, caddies and support staff in yellow. Managing those teams are golf legends: Karrie Webb and Thomas Bjorn, respectively.
Then there is Team USA, as mentioned, the only team with four players. Exploring a golf course they’ve never played becomes much easier with four views. Only on the 11th hole was a hybrid from Schauffele, a high iron from Scheffler, a low iron stinger from Clark and a finished driver from Morikawa. That was fun.
The lesson is … good. And that’s fine
The experience of Olympic golf still feels fresh, but the course is familiar territory. We are at Le Golf National, the annual host of the French Open and host of the 2018 Ryder Cup. (Get used to this place, European golf fans – it will host the French Open in just nine weeks.)
Alex Noren excelled here. Guido Migliozzi won here. Tom Kim finished T6 here last year. Tommy Fleetwood’s epic, undefeated 2018 Ryder Cup took place here. (He won again in his football career in 2017.) There are good vibes all around. Don’t just look for a punishing course at the likes of Pinehurst, Royal Troon or Augusta National. It is green and green, which makes it soft. There is some rain in the forecast, which means that despite the hot conditions, it shouldn’t get any again it is strong. PGA of America interim chief Kerry Haigh is in charge of the event this week, as he has done in previous Olympics. All of this means we can expect a score in the teens-under-par.
Scottie can get his swoosh back
Part of the charm of the Olympics is that everything feels good it is clean from a marketing point of view, even if that’s a nightmare for modern, integrated players who have a habit of branding everything. To keep things as casual as possible, the caddies even take the straps out of the bags they usually carry, wrap tape around any logos on the belt, and attach them to the new, one-off, national bags they’ll be carrying this week. Why? Because TopGolf didn’t sponsor Team USA – J.Lindeberg did, it pays whatever big bucks it takes to grace the American golfers this week.
But that funding only goes so far. In many cases, brands will pay competitors for clothing in time their competition, but visibility away from the venue and the medal stand is a completely different entity. All that said, the discomfort Scottie Scheffler feels about wearing anything but the Nike Swoosh can be washed away … a top three finish. Ralph Lauren suits Team USA during the Opening Ceremony and J.Lindeberg outfits them during the competition, but Nike owns the rights to the apparel worn during the medal ceremonies. If Scheffler is able to carry the medal, he will make his friends at Nike doubly happy.
Prepare to love the finishing touches… at last
Le Golf National was once a farm, back in the 1980s when its concept was born. It now has a reputation for being particularly punishing to anyone who goes wrong, in part because more than half the holes have water hazards in play. Three of those play on the last four holes.
You’re forgiven if you don’t remember these holes from the Ryder Cup, but only a few matches reached the LGN epic, finishing 4th. Its greens (and flowing areas) are located on an island that connects to the 15th green. Scheffler and Clark both pulled tee shots from the drink on Monday 18th, leading the winning side to make fun of their best (or worst?) French accent: “Am I lost?”
The 15th takes a similar shape – a shorter par-4, but with a much smaller green. The downhill, par-3 16th played on a windy Monday, making its short distance tricky to judge. The ball is in the air for a long time! Then it’s the 17th, which is the second-longest par-4 in the area. Holding on to the platform will be a bit of a grind. And you should!
This differentafter all
Part of the criticism this event faces – from players, agents, media, etc. – that you are not different enough from the golf tournaments we see week in and week out. At its core, 72 holes for each stroke play. But it’s definitely worth it to hear slightly different.
Sean Zak
First, there is one grandstand – an admittedly huge one, located behind the 18th green. Below it are the Olympic rings, behind the green and also visible on the 1st tee. There’s “Paris 2024” written all over it and special markers that make golf feel like a small, growing corner of the Games, even if the Games are part of golf’s four-year schedule.
It may take more than making a visual product this week feel different with a capital D, but that’s where all the other glamor and trends come into play. Scheffler dances on the table tennis. Ben An, too. It’s Jon Rahm flying in from England and heading straight to the Olympic Village to join the other athletes. They are practicing male golfers and practicing female golfers – and all of these golfers are trying to trade pins with other golfers.
One question I have: what other Olympians will come out to watch golf?
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