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Golf at the Summer Olympics facts for kids

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Golf at the Summer Olympics
Golf pictogram.svg
Governing body IGF
Events 2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Games
  • 1896
  • 1900
  • 1904
  • 1908
  • 1912
  • 1920
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1996
  • 2000
  • 2004
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2016
  • 2020

  • Medalists

Golf is officially recognized as first featuring in the Summer Olympic Games programme in 1900 and 1904, although the 1900 events were not regarded as being part of the games at the time. A golf tournament was to have been held in 1908, but it was cancelled less than two days before it was scheduled to start. Two golf tournaments were also to have been held in 1920, but were cancelled due to a lack of entries.

At the IOC session in Copenhagen in October 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to reinstate the sport for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Golf Federation is the governing body for golf at the Olympic Games. Qualification is based primarily upon the Official World Golf Ranking (men) and Women's World Golf Rankings, with the top 15 of each gender automatically qualifying (with a limit of four per country), and then the highest ranked players from countries that had not yet already qualified two players.

Medal table

Sources:

Total

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 5 3 5 13
2  Great Britain (GBR) 1 1 1 3
3  Canada (CAN) 1 0 0 1
 South Korea (KOR) 1 0 0 1
5  New Zealand (NZL) 0 1 1 2
6  Japan (JPN) 0 1 0 1
 Slovakia (SVK) 0 1 0 1
 Sweden (SWE) 0 1 0 1
9  China (CHN) 0 0 1 1
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 0 0 1 1
Totals (10 entries) 8 8 9 25

Men

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 3 2 4 9
2  Great Britain (GBR) 1 1 1 3
3  Canada (CAN) 1 0 0 1
4  Slovakia (SVK) 0 1 0 1
 Sweden (SWE) 0 1 0 1
6  Chinese Taipei (TPE) 0 0 1 1
Totals (6 entries) 5 5 6 16

Women

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States (USA) 2 1 1 4
2  South Korea (KOR) 1 0 0 1
3  New Zealand (NZL) 0 1 1 2
4  Japan (JPN) 0 1 0 1
5  China (CHN) 0 0 1 1
Totals (5 entries) 3 3 3 9

Events

1900
  • Men's individual
  • Women's individual
1904
  • Men's individual
  • Men's team
1908

A men's individual tournament was planned for the 1908 London Games, but a dispute amongst representatives of England and Scotland over the format led to British golfers boycotting, leaving 1904 gold medallist George Lyon of Canada as the only remaining entrant. He was entitled to claim the gold medal but declined.

1920

Two golf tournaments were planned at the 1920 Antwerp Games, but were cancelled due to a lack of entries.

2016
  • Men's individual
  • Women's individual
2020
  • Men's individual
  • Women's individual

Since its reintroduction, Olympic golf competitions have consisted of men's and women's individual stroke play. There has been calls for the IGF and the IOC to consider adding a match play tournament, a team tournament, and/or to open up the Olympic tournament to more golfers, possibly by using a different qualifying system than the World Golf Ranking.

Courses

Year Host city Course(s)
1900 France Paris Compiègne Golf Club
1904 United States St. Louis Glen Echo Country Club, Normandy, Missouri
1908 United Kingdom London Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Deal, Kent
1920 Belgium Antwerp Cappelen's Golf Club, Antwerp
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro Olympic Golf Course, Barra da Tijuca
2020 Japan Tokyo Kasumigaseki Country Club, Kawagoe
2024 France Paris Le Golf National, Guyancourt
2028 United States Los Angeles Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California
2032 Australia Brisbane Royal Queensland Golf Club, Eagle Farm, Queensland

Medal summary

Men's individual

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
 Charles Sands (USA)  Walter Rutherford (GBR)  David Robertson (GBR)
1904 St. Louis
details
 George Lyon (CAN)  Chandler Egan (USA)  Burt McKinnie (USA)
 Francis Newton (USA)
1908 cancelled
1912 not included in the Olympic program
1920 cancelled
1924–2012 not included in the Olympic program
2016 Rio
details
 Justin Rose (GBR)  Henrik Stenson (SWE)  Matt Kuchar (USA)
2020 Tokyo
details
 Xander Schauffele (USA)  Rory Sabbatini (SVK)  Pan Cheng-tsung (TPE)
2024 Paris
details

Women's individual

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1900 Paris
details
 Margaret Abbott (USA)  Pauline Whittier (USA)  Daria Pratt (USA)
1904–2012 not included in the Olympic program
2016 Rio
details
 Inbee Park (KOR)  Lydia Ko (NZL)  Shanshan Feng (CHN)
2020 Tokyo
details
 Nelly Korda (USA)  Mone Inami (JPN)  Lydia Ko (NZL)
2024 Paris
details

Men's team

Games Gold Silver Bronze
1904 St. Louis
details
 United States (USA)
Robert Hunter
Chandler Egan
Kenneth Edwards
Clement Smoot
Walter Egan
Daniel Sawyer
Edward Cummins
Mason Phelps
Nathaniel Moore
Warren Wood
 United States (USA)
Albert Lambert
Stuart Stickney
Burt McKinnie
William Stickney
Ralph McKittrick
Frederick Semple
Francis Newton
Henry Potter
John Cady
John Maxwell
 United States (USA)
Douglass Cadwallader
Allan Lard
Jesse Carleton
Simeon Price
Harold Weber
John Rahm
Arthur Hussey
Orus Jones
Harold Fraser
George Oliver

Participating nations

22 golfers competed in 1900. The 1904 tournament featured 77 golfers. Albert Lambert was the only golfer who competed both times; a total of 98 different golfers competed throughout the brief history of Olympic golf before it was brought back in 2016.

Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
 Argentina (ARG)                                                   2 1 2
 Australia (AUS)                                                   4 4 2
 Austria (AUT)                                                   2 3 2
 Bangladesh (BAN)                                                   1 1
 Belgium (BEL)                                                   3 3 2
 Brazil (BRA)                                                   3 1
 Canada (CAN)   3                                                 4 4 3
 Chile (CHI)                                                   1 2 2
 China (CHN)                                                   4 4 2
 Chinese Taipei (TPE)                                                   4 3 2
 Colombia (COL)                                                   1 2 2
 Czech Republic (CZE)                                                   1 2 2
 Denmark (DEN)                                                   4 4 2
 Ecuador (ECU)                                                   1 1
 Finland (FIN)                                                   4 4 2
 France (FRA)   9                                                 4 4 3
 Germany (GER)                                                   4 4 2
 Great Britain (GBR)   4                                                 4 4 3
 Greece (GRE)   1                                                 1
 Hong Kong (HKG)                                                   1 1 2
 India (IND)                                                   3 4 2
 Ireland (IRL)                                                   4 4 2
 Israel (ISR)                                                   1 1
 Italy (ITA)                                                   4 4 2
 Japan (JPN)                                                   4 4 2
 Malaysia (MAL)                                                   4 2 2
 Mexico (MEX)                                                   3 4 2
 Morocco (MAR)                                                   1 1 2
 Netherlands (NED)                                                   1 1 2
 New Zealand (NZL)                                                   3 2 2
 Norway (NOR)                                                   3 3 2
 Paraguay (PAR)                                                   2 1 2
 Philippines (PHI)                                                   1 3 2
 Poland (POL)                                                   1 1
 Portugal (POR)                                                   2 1
 Puerto Rico (PUR)                                                   2 1
 Russia (RUS)                                                   1 1
 South Africa (RSA)                                                   4 2 2
 South Korea (KOR)                                                   6 6 2
 Slovakia (SVK)                                                   1 1
 Slovenia (SLO)                                                   1 1
 Spain (ESP)                                                   4 4 2
 Sweden (SWE)                                                   4 4 2
 Switzerland (SUI)                                                   2 2 2
 Thailand (THA)                                                   4 4 2
 United States (USA)   8 74                                                 7 8 4
 Venezuela (VEN)                                                   1 1 2
 Zimbabwe (ZIM)                                                   1 1
Nations   4 2                                                 41 42 48
Athletes   22 77                                                 120 120
Year 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Golf en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

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