We're just a few hours away from the 2024 Olympics Men's Golf Event in Paris,  marking the continuation of golf’s Olympic journey. Golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year hiatus and has since become a significant part of the Games, showcasing the sport's global appeal and competitive spirit. Previous gold medal winners, Justin Rose & Xander Schauffele, are both competing alongside some of the best players in the world including Rory Mcilroy and Scottie Scheffler. As we look forward to this year's event, here's an in-depth look at what you need to know as well as a few hot takes.

1. The Venue:

Both Men's and Women's Golf events will take place at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, known for hosting the Ryder Cup in 2018 where Team Europe bested Team USA 17.5 to 10.5. The course will play to a shortened par 71 at 7,174 yards. The video below showcases Europe's winning moment and celebration on hole 16 when they captured the Cup.

2. Top Contenders

The field features some of the world's best golfers. Scottie Scheffler, the current world number one, aims to add an Olympic gold to his resume further solidifying his dominance in 2024. Xander Schauffele, the defending Olympic champion and 2-time major champion this year, will be looking to repeat his success from Tokyo 2020. Another player to look out for is Jon Rahm who just won recently won his first LIV event in The United Kingdom. My sleeper pick for the week is Matheu Pavon, the Frenchman who won at Torrey Pines earlier in the year and was recently quoted saying he would prefer to win a gold metal over a Major. 

3. The Format

The tournament will follow a 72-hole individual stroke play format. Each player’s total score over the four rounds determines their final standing. This format is familiar to fans of major golf tournaments and ensures a fair and competitive event where every shot counts.

4. The Competitors

A total of 60 players will compete in the men's event, representing countries from every continent. This diverse field includes top-ranked players and emerging talents, making the competition wide-open and unpredictable. The event's international nature highlights golf’s global reach and the high level of talent worldwide.

5. How they Got in

Players qualify based on their world rankings, with a maximum of four players per country if all are in the top 15. Otherwise, each country can send up to two players. This system ensures that the best players in the world participate while maintaining a global representation in the field. This comes with some controversy as fan favorite Bryson Dechambeau was left off the USA Team. 

6. Vegas Odds

As of writing this article, Vegas (no surprise) has Scottie favored to win (+300) followed by Xander (+525), Rory Mcilroy (+750), Jon Rahm and Colin Morikawa (+1000). For a complete breakdown of the odds check out this article from CBS. 

Here's a breakdown of Round 1 Pairings and tee times:

2024 Olympics Golf Tee Times, Round 1 Pairings

All times Eastern:

• 3 a.m. -- Victor Perez, Matthias Schmid, C.T. Pan
• 3:11 a.m. -- Thorbjorn Olesen, Alejandro Tosti, Joaquin Niemann
• 3:22 a.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Alex Noren, Ryan Fox
• 3:33 a.m. -- Min Woo Lee, Corey Conners, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• 3:44 a.m. -- Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood
• 3:55 a.m. -- Sepp Straka, Jason Day, Tom Kim
• 4:11 a.m. -- Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg
• 4:22 a.m. -- Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Daniel Hillier, Guido Migliozzi
• 4:33 a.m. -- Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Gavin Green, Gaganjeet Bhullar
• 4:44 a.m. -- Phachara Khongwatmai, Abraham Ancer, Zecheng Dou
• 4:55 a.m. -- Yechun Yuan, Camilo Villegas, Matteo Manassero
• 5:06 a.m. -- Adrian Meronk, Sami Valimaki, David Puig
• 5:17 a.m. -- Erik van Rooyen, Keita Nakajima, Kevin Yu
• 5:33 a.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Nicolai Hojgaard, Thomas Detry
• 5:44 a.m. -- Ben An, Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor
• 5:55 a.m. -- Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm
• 6:06 a.m. -- Matthieu Pavon, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 6:17 a.m. -- Shubhankar Sharma, Rafa Campos, Carlos Ortiz
• 6:28 a.m. -- Nico Echavarria, Mito Pereira, Kristoffer Ventura
• 6:29 a.m. -- Fabrizio Zanotti, Joel Girrbach, Tapio Pulkkanen

We only get the Summer Olympics every 4 years boys, so let's enjoy this one! Who are you rooting for? 

Stay tuned for more updates from Golfstix Clubhouse.