Scheffler, McIlroy, among star names who could MISS Olympics in 2028 unless golf makes a big change!
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Scottie Scheffler’s thrilling win at the men’s Olympic Golf Tournament will go down as one of the sport’s best events of 2024. However, without major changes, the World No.1 may not be able to defend his title in Los Angeles in 2028.
In fact, it won’t just be Scheffler. LA faces the genuine prospect of hosting a golf tournament at the Olympics without all the men’s game’s star names. No Rory McIlroy, no Tommy Fleetwood, no Hideki Matsuyama, no Xander Schauffele, no Jon Rahm, no Ludvig Aberg. You get the idea.
Just as the Paris event had convinced even the strongest nay-sayers (*waves) that the sport and its multi-millionaire stars belong in the games, Riviera Country Club’s hopes of building on that success could be over before they begin. Instead, they could be welcoming a host of names that sit far outside the world’s top 100. Nothing against those players – we can only dream of being that good – but ultimately, a golfer that those outside our sport’s small world have never heard of isn’t going to have the draw of Major champions and Ryder Cup stars.
But why could the big names be missing from the field of 60 players in four years?
Well, as it stands, the opening ceremony for the Los Angeles Olympic Games is scheduled for July 14, 2028. That’s more than a fortnight earlier than Rio 2016 (August 5), nine days earlier than Tokyo 2020 (July 23), and 12 days earlier than Paris 2024 (July 26). The men’s golf event has been played in the first week of all three games since its return to the Olympics, with the women’s event in the second week.
Why does that matter? Well, there’s a small annual golf event on the men’s professional schedule called The Open Championship. You may have heard of it – it’s the oldest golf tournament in the world. The final men’s Major of the year is traditionally played in the middle of July, somewhere around the 14th, some 8,000km away from LA in Britain.
If you look at the dates of the last ten tournaments, you can see the problem.
- 2014: Royal Liverpool, July 17-20
- 2015: St Andrews, July 16-19
- 2016: Royal Troon, July 14-17
- 2017: Royal Birkdale, July 20-23
- 2018: Carnoustie, July 19-22
- 2019: Royal Portrush, July 18-21
- 2020: No Tournament
- 2021: Royal St George’s, July 15-18
- 2022: St Andrews, July 14-17
- 2023: Royal Liverpool, July 20-23
- 2024: Royal Troon – July 14-21
The next two Opens show no sign of changing that run (Royal Portrush – July 17-20, 2025; Royal Birkdale – July 16-19, 2026) and while the R&A is yet to reveal the venues or dates of the championship beyond that (although, it’s almost certain to return to St Andrews for the 155th in 2027), we can safely assume the bigwigs won’t suddenly be pushing or pulling the famous championship around the calendar. Play it any earlier and the already congested men’s Major schedule, which saw all four tournaments played within 15 weeks this year, would become ridiculous. Play it any later and daylight could become an issue during the opening two rounds, especially in England, when tee times are scheduled from 6am until gone 4pm, plus television scheduling and planning of other Tour events would become trickier. Then you’ve got the Presidents Cup, the FedEx Cup Playoffs, not forgetting the Tour Championship, to avoid, and broadcasters Stateside would not want to risk any clashes with the NFL.
Golf isn’t the only sport facing this situation for LA 2028. Tennis chiefs have a headache with Wimbledon normally concluding on the weekend the Olympics is due to start. It looks set to be moved earlier to allow star names like Carlos Alcaraz to play in both, but the game’s authorities fear some players may skip events in the build-up to the Games.
Football’s Euros have also been moved earlier in the calendar. The 2024 tournament, which saw Spain beat England in the final ran from June 14 to July 14. The 2028 tournament is due to be played in England and Ireland and will start on June 8, ending on July 9.
Of course, men’s professional golf is in a state of flux with the game’s leading bodies locked in talks to try and unite the tours and players. If we look at how much golf has changed since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when LIV Golf was just a glint in Greg Norman and the Saudi’s eyes, then it’s impossible to predict the landscape four years from now. Shifting events could prove easier if the game becomes more joined up.
Rory McIlroy, who has been among the most vocal players on the changing landscape in golf, has played in the last two Olympic Golf tournaments for Ireland, missing out on a bronze in a play-off in Tokyo and missing out on the podium after making a late double bogey as he pushed for the gold in Paris. He has already warned that “something needs to give” in golf’s schedule to ensure The Open and Olympics clash doesn’t prove problematic.
“I think from what I’ve read, 2028 in L.A. is going to be much more of a headache than this one was. But maybe the world of golf looks a little different then.”
The four-time Major champion also rejected the idea that The Open could be played after the Olympics.
“I don’t think you can. It will be the second week of Wimbledon which you can’t do, either. There’s so many golf tournaments and not enough weeks in the calendar. Something needs to give.”
But the Royal & Ancient, which runs The Open, and the All England Club, which runs Wimbledon, aren’t in the business of being told what to do.
So, if the R&A rules out moving The Open, then what is the solution? The obvious one would be to flip the men’s and women’s Olympic Golf events, right? Great idea. Only the women’s game also has a Major in mid-July – the Amundi Evian Championship, meaning the players would be jetting straight from a Major in France to another intense contest in America at a time when most would choose to take a week off. That would also mean the men who qualify for both The Open and the Olympics going straight from the Major to the Games. We’ve also got to consider the fact the International Golfer Federation is working with the International Olympic Committee to introduce even more golf to the games in 2028, so there will be little flex available in the schedule.
“We went to the IOC at the beginning of the year and we’re working with the organizing committee for Los Angeles 2028 on a proposal to have a mixed-team event in between the men’s and women’s event,” IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon told us earlier this year. “So far, we’ve done a pretty good job with the 72-hole strokeplay event and the players themselves have said ‘listen if we’re going to have a gold medallist in the individual competition, it’s got to be 72-hole strokeplay.
“Every Olympic Games we look at formats to see what’s the best way to showcase the sport. We think a mixed-team format is a fantastic opportunity and we’ve got great player support from that, we just need the IOC to agree. That decision will be made at the beginning of 2025 when they sign off on the different sports that will be delivered in LA, but yeah good signs. That tribalism from teams playing against each other plus the camaraderie and friendships that develop from it is why we’re big supporters of a mixed-team event.”
Based on those quotes, there’s no plan to switch the order of the Olympic golf and, unsurprisingly, there’s no chance of the entire Olympic Games being shifted to allow for The Open. Even this far out, plans are moving forward rapidly and that would prove a logistical nightmare.
When I contacted the R&A to ask how they planned to overcome a potential clash, they couldn’t provide an on-the-record comment. The IGF and IOC have said they will respond once the action concludes in Paris.
LA will already see unprecedented changes compared to previous Olympics. Track and field athletes will compete in the first week with swimming shifted to the second week. That drastic change has been made to allow the SoFi Stadium, which will host the opening ceremony, to have a pool installed to host the likes of Leon Marchand and Katie Ledecky.
As it stands, the players could be forced to choose between a shot at the Claret Jug and the chance to secure Olympic glory. If that’s the case, then a week on the British coast and the shine of the Claret Jug’s silver would inevitably prove more alluring than California’s gold.
About the Author
Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.
He’s passionate about the equipment used by professional golfers and is also a font of knowledge regarding golf balls, rangefinders, golf trolleys, and golf bags, testing thousands down the years.
You can email Rob or get in touch with him on X.
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Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy could miss the 2028 Olympics
