Caddie-turned-TV analyst John Wood embraces return to Olympics

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – For caddie-turned-TV analyst John Wood, being on site at Le Golf National ahead of the 2024 olympic golf competition comes with a heavy dose of nostalgia.

It was just eight years ago that Wood was on the bag for Team USA’s Matt Kuchar as he captured the bronze medal in golf’s return the Games in 2016.

“I love the Olympics,” he said Tuesday at Le Golf National. “I have since I was a little kid, I just always loved watching them, never thinking I'd be a part of them in any way. So when Kuch actually made that team, it was such a thrill to know we were just going. Then to get that bronze at the end of the day. The coolest moment for me was we finished up seeing him on the podium …”

He trailed off, his voice cracking just a hair as he recalled the moment after the final round when he was packing up their gear in the locker room at Olympic Golf Course in Rio. Kuchar had returned, requesting his presence on the 18th green.

“That was a strange thing,” Wood said. “That never happens. I figured, OK, well, he wants to take some pictures, or somebody wants some pictures of us together. That's great.”

He got more than a photo opp. The sun was setting over the Olympic Golf Course in Rio when Wood got to the green, where he was greeted by a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Kuchar, the newly minted bronze medalist, then recognized his caddie with the Order of Ikkos, an award established to recognize someone instrumental to an athlete who medals during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“It's one of the neatest things that's ever happened in my career, in my life,” said Wood, who was with Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Kevin Sutherland and others for 10 PGA TOUR wins. “Just being part of it was enough for me. That was such a thrill just to be a part of it. But then when that happened, it was just like – it's one of the moments I will think about when I'm all done and retired from doing all this. It's one of the best moments I've ever had.”

Flash forward to today, and Wood is back at the Games an on-course commentator for NBC. He’s looking forward to taking it all in from a different perspective this time around.

“I think when you're caddying, you are so focused on your player because that's really your only concern,” he said. “You don't care how everybody else is doing or how they might be playing a certain hole or anything like that – you’re hyper-focused on your player. This is different because I get to see the whole spectrum of the event.

“A lot of people haven't heard of some of these golfers who qualified from smaller countries, and I love watching them because it's just such an event for them and such a moment just to be here,” he continued. “But then you think about guys like Xander (Schauffele) and Scottie Scheffler and Rory (McIlroy) who have done everything in golf and this means the world to them, too. Golf has four majors per year, but only one Olympics every four years, so it's really special. And I think, by the end, if you can say I've won a gold medal or any medal at the Olympics, I think it adds a lot to your career.”

Wood, who has been tapped as U.S. team manager for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, served as U.S. assistant captain at the 2018 Ryder Cup at none other than Le Golf National. And he’ll aim to bring that insider perspective to the fans at home once the cameras start rolling with the first tee shot Thursday.

“I think it's going to play differently (than in 2018) in that the fairways are a little larger,” Wood said. “Back in 2018, they were very tight. I thought the rough would be down this week. It's not. It's much more severe than I expected it to be. Much like it was in ’18, if you find yourself in the rough, a lot of times you don't have the option to reach the green. You're hacking it out and trying to make a wedge up-and-down somewhere to save your par.

“It's going to be softer,” he continued, “which is kind of strange in the summertime, but they have to keep water on it. Back in 18, it was hard as a rock; it could be tough just to keep a ball in the fairway. Not this year. Players are going to get a lot less roll, but you can attack this course if you're finding fairways, you can make a lot of birdies out here. I think the winning score will be very good – somewhere in the 18-under area is my prediction.”