Smylie Kaufman has named the player he is backing to win the Olympic gold medal ahead of both Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, insisting that he is feeling so good about his choice ahead of the event at Le Golf National.
Many of the world’s best are in France for the third Olympic golf event in more than a century, with the players looking to emulate Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele by finishing at the top of the podium.
Of course, it is one of the rare occasions where the best on the PGA Tour and many of the heavyweights on LIV Golf face off. It is looking like an incredibly strong field at Le Golf National.
Obviously, Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler are likely to be the overwhelming favourites for many, while players such as Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Alex Noren and Tommy Fleetwood were part of the 2018 European team which won the Ryder Cup around the course. Noren and Fleetwood also won Open de France at the venue.
Smylie Kaufman picks major winner to win Olympic gold medal
But there are so many major champions in contention for a medal. And speaking on The Smylie Show, Kaufman suggested that one American stands out to him – even more than either of the world’s two best players.
“I just can’t get off of picking Collin Morikawa, I just feel so good about Collin winning this week. He hasn’t had that big win yet this year, and he’s been just trending, trending, trending. And you can make a case for anybody in the top five or six in the odds on why they’re going to win, but I just can’t get off of Collin on this golf course,” he said.
“To me, it should suit his game just perfectly, being able to hit those little cuts and find fairways; his ball-striking’s improved so much this year, back to what we were accustomed to. And if he gets that hot iron game that we know that he can get, his putter, his work with Stephen Sweeney’s just been a huge difference for him this year to where he’s been able to keep rounds together, keep those momentum putts going. Don’t be surprised to see Collin win a gold medal.”
Collin Morikawa’s consistency in recent months has been outstanding
American fans will not have happy memories of the course, with the US team handed a bit of a thrashing six years ago. But the good news is that none of those on that team are in the field this week, with Morikawa starting his PGA Tour career around that time.
Morikawa endured a brief slump earlier on in the season; missing the cut at Bay Hill before just finishing inside the top 50 at The Players Championship. But he has not finished outside the top 20 in any event since the start of May.
Morikawa was unhappy with his driving at the Scottish Open, but he finished tied for fourth at The Renaissance Club. So he is definitely playing a lot of good golf right now.
Winning a gold medal ahead of Schauffele and Scheffler would be a real statement from the 27-year-old.
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