Horses for Courses: Le Golf National calls for unique skillset

Olympic golf returns for just the fifth time (1900, 1904, 2016, 2021) and the first at Le Golf National, the first venue we can really utilize some prior form from as we hunt for those likely to win gold, silver or bronze.

Designed in 1990, the course will host a field of 60 players representing 32 countries, including 25 players who played at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, led by gold medalist American Xander Schauffele (+550).

Playing 7,147 yards to a par-71 (36-35), the track in the southwest Paris suburbs has hosted every edition of the Open de France except two since 1991 and was the backdrop for the 2018 Ryder Cup, won convincingly by Team Europe.

Making his first visit in competition to Le Golf National, Schauffele has a track record across the world of performing and knocking off big fields. Victories in limited field events in China and Japan, plus winning twice in Scotland, including the final major of 2024, provide the evidence.

As the leader after 36 and 54 holes in Japan, the Californian closed the deal with a final round of 67. The two-time major winner is one of just two players in the field this week with an Olympic medal in golf.

SG: Tee to Green

Players listed are in the field this week; 2024 season stats.

The rolling farmland features tight fairways protected by two cuts of Ryegrass and Fescue rough. Hazards include water penalty areas on 10 holes and 51 strategically placed bunkers framing fairways and greens. Large on average by PGA TOUR standards, the Creeping Bentgrass/Poa annua greens should see plenty of action from the top players in the world.

The course has taken on a ton of rain through June and should be lush. Not many players in the field have multiple experiences here, but the ones who find the most fairways and greens should have their eyes on the podium Sunday.

Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) has experienced Le Golf National in all its forms. The 2017 Open de France winner, one of three previous champions in the field, missed the cut in his five other visits. Returning for the 2018 Ryder Cup, he won four of his five matches on a track that was penal off the tee and into the greens. Making his second swing into Olympic golf, the man from Great Britain dropped a T16 in the Tokyo Games.

Bogey Avoidance

The ability to grind out pars on a demanding course tee to green is necessary. Executing shots from rich rough, getting up and down, and holing putts outside gimme range provides the foundation. Without a 36-hole cut forcing the issue, the players can take their medicine and move on. Compounding errors separates the wheat from the chaff.

Qualifying for his second Olympic Games, Alex Noren (+3300) will look to improve on his T16 result from Tokyo. The choice of Paris as host and Le Golf National as the featured course has the full attention of the Swedish PGA TOUR pro. The 2018 winner of the Open de France has cashed T18 or better in five of eight career visits and includes three top-10 paydays. Representing Sweden in his first Ryder Cup later in 2018, he won two of his three matches.

SG: Putting

With a lush, tiered rough system plus tight driving conditions, the above-average greens complexes will be a welcome site for those not as hyper-accurate off the tee and into the greens. Creeping Bentgrass and Poa annua provide large targets to accept shots on approaches or getting up and down. After a wet June and the women playing the exact layout next week, the greens will not be lighting the Stimpmeter on fire.

Cashing a share of 32nd place in Tokyo, Guido Migliozzi (+8000), the 2022 winner at the Open de France, returns to a course where he has played the weekend in two visits previously. The Italian showed his game can stand up in majors, cashing in both U.S. Opens (T4, 2021, T14, 2022) and making the cut in his last two visits to The Open Championship. The red, white, and green flag flies high on tough tracks.

Oddsmaker’s extras

Thorbjorn Olesen (+8000): In nine previous starts, the Dane has hit the podium twice and cashed four times at T20 or better, including T10 in 2023. Almost winning on debut (T2) in 2010, he was one of five players entered this week (McIlroy, Noren, Fleetwood, and Jon Rahm) from the victorious 2018 Ryder Cup European side. Making his first start in the Olympic Games since 2016, he will look to improve on his T30 finish from Rio de Janeiro.

Rory McIlroy (+850): After not participating in the 2016 games, the four-time major champion was one of six players to fall short of C.T. Pan (+20000) in the seven-man playoff for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games. Winning two of his five matches in the 2018 Ryder Cup, the Irishman has not played Le Golf National since then. He finished third at the Open de France in 2016.

Jon Rahm (+1100): Appearing in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the Open de France, the Spaniard collected T10 on debut and followed with T5 in 2017. After making the 2018 Ryder Cup team, he only featured in three matches, winning one. Failing a late COVID-19 test before Tokyo in 2021, he is making his Olympic debut.

Thomas Detry (+5000): In five previous starts at Le Golf National, the Belgian has finished T35 or better from four events making the cut. Highlighted by T8 in 2019, the former University of Illinois player returned in 2023 and signed for T35. Appearing at his second Olympics, he shared 22nd place in Tokyo.

-Odds courtesy of BetMGM.com-

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