Doug Ferguson/ Related Press
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The Grant Thornton Invitational started final 12 months to robust evaluations from the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour gamers who took half within the first mixed-team occasion since 1999.
Subsequent on the horizon are the Olympics.
The format already is ready for the Summer time Olympics at Le Golf Nationwide exterior Paris. Identical to in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, there might be 72-hole competitions for the lads and the ladies. However Olympic officers are near finalizing a staff competitors for the 2028 Video games at Riviera in Los Angeles.
One particular person concerned within the talks stated an announcement may come as early as The Masters. The particular person spoke to The Related Press on situation of anonymity as a result of particulars aren’t accomplished.
Among the many particulars are what number of groups would play and the format for the competitors. The present plan for 2028 is for the lads to begin on Wednesday (as an alternative of Thursday) and end on Saturday. The staff competitors may happen on Sunday and Monday. The ladies would have a apply spherical on Tuesday and begin their competitors on Wednesday.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee tends to frown on awarding two medals from one competitors, resembling combining scores from people right into a staff medal. That’s why golf officers are proposing a separate occasion.
Nonetheless to be decided is what number of nations might be eligible to compete. One choice at present being mentioned is 36 holes of fourballs to determine the staff medalists.
The IOC would do properly to contemplate singles. To have a staff format (foursomes or fourballs) on Sunday, adopted by singles scores from every female and male gamers may produce 54-hole scores.
Such is the format used on the Summer time Youth Olympics, the place golf was performed first in 2014. On the final such competitors, Atthaya Thitikul was a part of the Thai staff that gained the gold over Akshay Bhatia and Lucy Li of the USA.
A combined staff occasion would require solely two extra days for the gamers. It’s unlikely any of the highest gamers could be enjoying the next week at an everyday PGA Tour occasion.
Lydia Ko and Jason Day gained the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational. Ko already has a silver and a bronze in her two Olympic appearances.
