The format of golf at the Olympics is the same as any tour event. It’s a stroke play over four days, and it will get underway on Thursday.
A Familiar Face
The course at this year’s Olympics golf competition will be played at Golf National, which is on the outskirts of Paris. The course is home to the Open de France on the DP World Tour, but many people might be familiar with it as a Ryder Cup venue, which saw a European victory in 2018. Therefore, I’m going to be looking at players who have previously played well at the course.
Happy Memories For Fleetwood
First up has to be Tommy Fleetwood for Team GB, who’s currently 20/1 with Rhino. He’s played very well at Golf National in the past. In 2017 he won the French Open, and at the Ryder Cup he won all of his matches, so it’s clearly a course that suits him. On the other hand, the last few events haven’t got to plan for him, and he didn’t make the cut at The Open Championship earlier in the month.
However, earlier this year his form was decent, and it included a third-place effort at The Masters. Maybe a team environment might be able to transfer his mentality, and perhaps an Olympic Gold Medal can help him break his major maiden tag.
Noren Can Build On Experience
Next up is Alex Noren for Sweden. The Swede has been in good shape in his last few tournaments, and he played well at The Open Championship, where he finished in a respectable tie for 13th place. Furthermore, Golf National is a course where he has a lot of strong form, which included a win in the 2018 Open de France.
At the last Olympics he represented Sweden, and he was in contention for a medal going into the last two rounds, but he just faded away. With that experience under his belt, he should be more streetwise, and I can see him being right in contention this week at 28/1.
Don’t Discount The Dane
My outsider for the Olympic title is going to be Thorbjorn Olesen for Denmark. He’s a golfer who probably should have won a little bit more than he has during his career to date with the amount of talent he has. However, the 34-year-old has made his last few cuts, and there have been signs that he’s coming into form. When it comes to his experience at Golf National, he’s got plenty of it. In 2011, he finished runner-up at the Open de France, plus he’s got a load of Top 10 finishes next to his name. I’ve had my eye on him to pop up for a big prize for a while, and maybe the Olympics could be the making of him.
I hope you are enjoying the Olympics in Paris, but please remember to gamble responsibly if you’re having a bet.
Olympics Golf Shortlist
Tommy Fleetwood EW (20/1)
Alex Noren EW (28/1)
Thorbjorn Olesen EW (90/1)