World number 36 Min Woo Lee has named a change he wants to see happen to the Olympic golf event in time for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 26-year-old and Jason Day are representing Australia at the Paris 2024 event, which gets underway at Le Golf National on Thursday.
Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are the headline American players set to feature, and Rory McIlroy is representing Ireland.
This week, a traditional 72-hole format will be used, and the Olympics could have made a mistake by not using match play instead.
It’s a view shared by Lee, who believes a new format should be implemented in Los Angeles.
Min Woo Lee wants ‘cool’ format introduced at 2028 Olympics
Speaking during his press conference, the Aussie was asked about the possibility of a mixed-team event.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll have to see,” said Lee. “Watching the tennis and watching the Rugby Sevens, it’s kind of condensed. So I think that might have to be a part of golf.” It will be a pretty long week for us if we had to do four days individuals and I don’t know how many days of mixed — two days of mixed. That’s a lot of golf for us.”
He added: “I would be very excited if there was a team event, and that would be very cool. That would make golf grow, which is awesome, and we want to do that. So excited if it is in L.A.”
The Olympics have made a mistake in Paris
The 2024 edition should have incorporated some match-play. Some of the most entertaining and pulsating moments in the sport’s history have come in match-play situations.
Furthermore, after the ditching of the WGC Match Play in 2023, the schedule is now entirely dominated by traditional stroke play events.
There’s no doubt some of the elite players would be eager to compete in a different format from time to time, and the Olympics would be the perfect opportunity.
With the spotlight on golf, organisers will hope for an engaging event that will draw attention from the casual sports fan watching on from home.
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