Men's Olympic Golf Tips & Gold Medal Favourites

In this post, we have Men’s Olympic Golf tips as the world’s top golfers battle it out for the chance to win an Olympic gold medal in France this summer.

The sport returned to the Olympic Games in 2016 after a more than 100-year absence with Justin Rose winning the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on that occasion. The defending champion in the event is Xander Schauffele after his victory in Tokyo in 2021 and he is among the favourites once again going into these games.

Men’s Olympic Golf Odds

Men’s Olympic Golf Betting Favourites & Contenders

Xander Schauffele

The favourite to land the gold medal in Paris is the defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele at odds of 7/5 which implies that he has a 41.7% chance according to the latest odds at BoyleSports of successfully defending his title.

The American came into the event as the second favourite at 6/1 in the betting but has seen his odds slashed into 7/5 after posting scores of -6 and -5 respectively over the opening two days of action at Le Golf National. That sees him on -11 and right in amongst the leaders going into the weekend.

From his 18 events played in 2024, the current world number 2 has topped the leaderboard twice. Crucially both of those wins came at the majors. In May he was finally able to break his major duck at the PGA Championship having been among the favourites going into the major championships for the past 5 years but never getting over the line.

That win at Valhalla seems to have Schauffele playing with a new level of confidence and belief. That proved to be the case at The Open a couple of weeks ago when the California native played incredible golf over the weekend to win at Royal Troon by two shots and add his name to the illustrious list of golfers to win multiple major titles.

Schauffele even when not winning is always thereabouts with 12 Top-10 finishes from 18 events with two other runner-up finishes, 17 Top-25 results and has never been CUT. He has shown himself to be a man for the big occasion and is more attractively priced than outright favourite Scheffler.

Given that he is in the form of his life and that he won the gold medal at the previous Olympics, it is no surprise to see Schauffele the Olympics gold medal favourite heading into the weekend.

Jon Rahm

The second favourite for Olympic gold is Jon Rahm at 9/2 in the betting per the latest golf odds at BoyleSports.

The World Number 10 plays his golf on the LIV Tour so arguably goes a little under the radar for his abilities and successes. His sole success this season came in his debut event on his new tour at LIV Golf Mayakoba where the Legion VIII team that he captains won the team title.

This year he has struggled with injuries which have hurt his form but his recent T7 finish at The Open Championship suggests his form is coming to the boil at the right time for this event.

The Spaniard has put himself in a great position to challenge for Olympic gold after posting a score of -9 through the opening two rounds.

Hideki Matsuyama

The third favourite for the Gold Medal in men’s golf at this Olympics is Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese star golfer is an 11/2 chance to win the ultimate prize per the latest golf betting odds at BoyleSports.

Matsuyama has been a consistent top performer at the major championships and big events over the last decade and he has put himself in a great position to contend for a medal going into the weekend of this Olympics. His biggest success came in 2021 when he won the Masters after having been a perennial major contender in years prior.

The Japanese golfer performed well at his home games in Tokyo in 2021 although would fall just short of winning a medal as he was unable to prevail in a 7-man playoff for the bronze medal.

With major championship-winning pedigree, a previous strong performance at the Olympic Games and a strong opening two rounds Matsuyama is a live contender for gold in France.

Rory McIlroy

The Northern Irishman and team Ireland representative Rory McIlroy is 12/1 to win the Olympic gold medal. McIlroy went into the tournament as the 9/1 third favourite but has drifted out a little in the odds since then.

The World Number 3 is arguably the most mercurial player on the golfing tour and when on his game few if any can deal with his raw ability. From 16 events this season, he has gotten in right twice winning the Zurich Classic last April and the Wells Fargo Championship last May.

However, unlike the top two in the betting market, Mcllroy is a little less consistent with 6 Top 10 finishes from 16 events, 13 Top-25 results and 15/16 cuts made. He has the game to land gold but I’m not sure he can be quite counted on for success.

The Hollywood native is not out of the running just yet for the gold medal although he will have to have a strong weekend to top the leaderboard. He is certainly in the mix to be on the podium come Sunday evening at Le Golf National.

Scottie Scheffler

Further out in the betting, we have Scottie Scheffler who is 22/1 to win gold at these Olympic Games.

The American went into the tournament as the 4/1 favourite but has since seen his odds lengthen to 22/1 where they are now.

Scheffler is the World Number 1 golfer which he has earned for being the most consistent player on the tour. From his 16 events entered in 2024, he has been victorious on 6 occasions with his most recent success coming at the Memorial Tournament last month where his -8 score put him one shot clear of runner-up Collin Morikawa.

Even when not winning competitions, Scheffler has shown remarkable consistency with 14 Top-10 finishes from 16 events this season, 15 Top 25 finishes and 16/16 Cuts made.

Scheffler will be disappointed with his opening two days of play. He’s not totally out of contention but he will need to go low over the weekend and hope the leaders slip up a little too.

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