Tommy Fleetwood is set to represent Team GB at the 2024 Paris Olympics as The Englishman looks to better his 16th-place finish from three years ago.
Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are GB’s hopes at Le Golf National, the site of Europe’s iconic 2018 Ryder Cup victory.
Much has been made of the format for this week’s event, which will feature a traditional stroke play competition. However, the Olympics could have made a mistake by not incorporating a match-play aspect.
And it’s a view that Fleetwood shares.
Tommy Fleetwood wants Olympic change for the 2028 games in Los Angeles
Speaking during his pre-tournament press conference, Fleetwood claimed he wouldn’t be opposed to another format being introduced.
“More opportunities for a medal, the better, really, more opportunities for chances than one,” he explained. “First impressions are I would love the chance. If I was here, I would love more than one chance to win a medal just selfishly, if the opportunity is there.”
He added: “You don’t know until you’ve tried it. It could be a great idea. I guess I would love to try it. I would love to make the next one and see if we do anything different there.”
Xander Schauffele disagrees with Olympic change
Xander Schauffele was also quizzed on the changing Olympic format, and The Open Champion raised concerns about a mixed match play event.
“I have no problem with a 72-hole format. It seems to be fine,” Schauffele said. “I think having a match-play event would be kind of weird. So that’s just my take on that.”
He added: “Then with the co-sex play, I’m a big advocate of don’t knock on it until you try it. My only issue with it would be the run of events—it being two weeks in a row.”
From a fan’s perspective, moving away from the traditional PGA Tour format would have been refreshing. The 2024 Olympics is the perfect stage to showcase the best golf has to offer, and a match-play format could have added a little more excitement.
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