🏌‍♀Olympics: Why Are Golfers Ineligible For Prize Money?

Good Morning! The field is set for the men’s event of the Olympics at Le Golf National - click here to find out the groups and tee times.

The tournament tees off on August 1 - don’t forget to check out our top betting picks for the tournament!

Fun Fact: A golf tournament was to have been held at the 1908 Olympics, but it was cancelled less than two days before it was scheduled to start.

⛳ This day in history: On this date, in the 2011 women's British Open, Yani Tseng of Taiwan became the first player to successfully defend the Open as a major championship, 4 strokes ahead of Brittany Lang.

ODDS AND PICKS
Our Top Picks For The Olympics (Men’s Event)

🚩 The Olympics golf men’s event tees off tomorrow with stars across the globe assembling at Le Golf National to battle it out for Gold.

💰 Purse: NA

Here are our top picks we’re betting on:

🚀Most Likely to Win: Collin Morikawa (+1000) is having a consistently strong season, lacking only a win to complete his resume. He excels in ball-striking, gaining over three strokes in this area over his last seven starts. With top-notch accuracy off the tee and precision in approach shots, Morikawa is the favorite to win at Le Golf National.

🚀Key Player in the Top 5: Tommy Fleetwood (300x), a past winner at the French Open held at Le Golf National and a standout from the 2019 Ryder Cup at the same venue, is known for his accuracy off the tee and skill with mid-irons. Expect him to bounce back strongly at this familiar course after a disappointing Open Championship.

🚀Key Player in the Top 10: Sepp Straka (+240), renowned for his accuracy in driving and strong approach play, has shown impressive performances on challenging courses like TPC Sawgrass and Muirfield Village. Anticipate a solid showing from him at Le Golf National.

🚀Key Player in the Top 20: Guido Migliozzi (+125), the 2022 French Open champion at Le Golf National, is in fine form on the DP World Tour. With recent wins and consistently strong ball-striking stats, Migliozzi combines current form with course experience for a promising performance.

🚀Underdog Likely to Emerge: Sami Valimaki (+15000) has previously finished 20th at Le Golf National and is noted for his proficiency with mid- to long-iron shots, ranking highly in proximity from 175 yards. He's a strong contender to exceed expectations in this event.

* All odds via BetMGM, at the time of publishing.

ALBATROSS
Why Are Olympic Golfers Not Eligible For Prize Money?

The International Golf Federation [IGF] took a firm stand against any financial compensation for golfers competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Upholding the IGF’s integrity of conduct rules, this ruling ensures participants neither directly nor indirectly receive any form of payment tied to the event.

In contrast, World Athletics will pay $50,000 to each of the gold medal-winning athletes in the 48 track and field events while relay teams will be awarded $50,000 as a group. The federation has set aside a $2.4 million prize pot.

IGF's regulation ensures that Olympic golfers compete without any financial incentives tied to their participation. The IGF has also clarified that individual golfers will be responsible for paying their caddies.

Caddies can be from any nation, and their fees must be agreed upon before the competition starts. The men's golf competition will begin on August 1, while the women's competition will start on August 7.

⛳️Rory and Scottie Grouped Together: Masters champ Scottie Scheffler, two-time 2024 major champion and reigning gold medalist Xander Schauffele, and 26-time PGA Tour winner Rory McIlroy — the top three ranked players in the world — headline the 60-person field. McIlroy and Scheffler are grouped together alongside the sport's rising star Ludvig Aberg, making it one of the must-follow Olympics groups.

Click here to check out the tee times and other groups.

🚨Qualification Controversy: LIV Golfers claim that a number of top players from the league failed to make it to the Olympics field due to "politics". The controversy centers on world ranking points.

Olympic qualification relies on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), with the top 15 players automatically qualifying (with a maximum of four per country) and each country guaranteed two spots for its top-ranked players. The problem for LIV players is that the OWGR does not award ranking points for LIV Golf tournaments.

Many LIV players have seen their rankings plummet, jeopardizing their Olympic qualification chances.

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TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Can Schauffele Defend Olympic Gold in Paris?

Defending Champion Xander Schauffele has arrived in Paris for the men’s Olympic golf competition as a two-time major winner this season, adding The Open at Royal Troon two weeks ago to his breakthrough at the PGA Championship in May.

The World No 2 is one of the strongest contenders to win and he has come to Le Golf National with a new equipment set up.

📍Driver: In 2021, Schauffele trusted a 9-degree Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond driver with a Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7X shaft. Now, Schauffele will be using a 10.5-degree Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond with a Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70TX shaft.

So far in 2024, Schauffele ranks 37th on the PGA TOUR in driving distance (305.7 yards) and eighth in Total Driving.

📍3-Wood: Back in 2021, Schauffele employed a Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond 3-wood with a Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7TX shaft, and he now uses a higher-lofted Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3HL (high-launch) at 16.5 degrees, equipped with a Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80TX shaft.

📍7-Woods, Hybrids and Driving Irons: In 2021, Schauffele won the gold medal with a Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero 7-wood in the bag. These days, Schauffele has gone away from using a 7-wood, instead using either a Mizuno MP-20 driving iron, or a Callaway Apex UW 23-degree club depending on course conditions and weather.

📍Irons: Schauffele still entrusts Callaway’s Apex TCB lineup of irons, equipped with True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100 shafts, but the TCB model has undergone some minor cosmetic and design upgrades since 2021.

📍 Wedges: Back in 2021, Schauffele used a Callaway Jaws MD5 52-degree, a Titleist Vokey SM6 56-degree, and a Titleist Vokey SM8 60-degree with a wide-soled K-grind. In 2024, Schauffele is likely to use a new Callaway Opus 52-degree, and two Titleist Vokey SM10 wedges (56, and 60 degrees with a T-grind).

📍Putter: Schauffele still uses a red No 7 CH mallet but his putter in 2021 was called an Odyssey O-Works No 7 CH Red, whereas his 2024 version is called the Odyssey Toulon Design Las Vegas No 7 CH Prototype.

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

Spain*ASU: Spain is making a remarkable statement at the 2024 Olympics by sending four golfers, all of whom share a unique bond: they played for Arizona State University (ASU). The four golfers are Jon Rahm, David Puig, Carlota Ciganda, and Azahara Munoz.

Equipment Tales: Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) has announced their latest 0311 Gen7 and Black Ops game improvement irons along with the highly-anticipated Sugar Daddy III wedges - click here to check them out.

LPGA Tour: Commercial property insurer FM added $300,000 to the prize fund for the 2024 FM Championship. The purse for the inaugural competition now stands at $3.8 million.

TV Ratings: CBS drew 1.323M viewers for Jhonattan Vegas's win in the 3M Open. That's down 21% from 1.665M last year for Lee Hodges' 7-shot win.

Lavish Rewards: Adrian Meronk could walk away with an incredible bundle of prizes if he scoops a gold medal at the Olympic golf tournament - check out what Poland is lining up for him.

BIRDIE
Will These Olympic Golf Records Ever Be Broken?

Golf was played in the Olympics in 1900, and 1904, and then there was a gap of 112 years before it returned at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will mark the fifth appearance of the sport at the globe's biggest sporting event - here are five astonishing golf records in the history of the Olympics.

📌 Rose's Guinness World Record (2016): Justin Rose became the first gold medalist in golf since 1904 and made it to the Guinness World Records at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Guinness World Records also declared that the most holes-in-one in an Olympic golf tournament is 1 - and, it was achieved by Rose.

📌 Lowest Round (2021): Rory Sabbatini carded 61 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics - that is the lowest recorded score in a single round at the Olympics till date. Although Sabbatini shot a birdie for the 18th hole on this final round for the 61, he secured only the silver medal.

📌 7-way Playoff (2021): Seven distinct golfers representing seven distinct nations were all tied for one spot, the bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

With a final score of 15-under after 72 holes, the following golfers were all tied for the third position: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey, Mito Pereira, C.T. Pan, and Sebastian Munoz. It was ultimately won by the Chinese golfer, C. T. Pan.

📌 Ko's Consecutive Medals: Lydia Ko is the first golfer to ever get medals twice in a row. Representing New Zealand, Lydia Ko first won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. When she participated again in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she achieved a bronze medal.

📌 Korda's Record (2021): After a 112-year gap, 2016 saw Russian golfer Maria Verchenova shoot the lowest round of 62. The very next Olympic season, Nelly Korda matched the world record and shot another round of 62 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan.

Korda ultimately won the gold, but she had to only settle for a shared record in the Guinness World Records.

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DRIVING RANGE
Do This Drill To Improve

In today's video, we share a drill that can significantly improve your game with just 10 minutes of practice per week.

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