Golf

Golf was on the program of the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games. In 1900, men and women competed in separate individual events. In 1904, a men’s individual match-play event and a team stroke-play event were contested. Golf was on the Olympic schedule in both 1908 and 1920 but was not contested in either year, and an exhibition was held in 1936, in Baden-Baden, during the Olympics.

The International Golf Federation (formerly the World Amateur Golf Council, the name being changed in 2003) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headed by the executive directors of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (Scotland).

In the new millennium, golf began a push to again be included as an Olympic Sport. It was approved for addition to the Olympic Program at a meeting of the Executive Board in 2001, but the proposal was tabled, and a vote by the IOC Session occurred in July 2005, at which time golf was not approved. However, in October 2009, at the 13th Olympic Congress in København, golf was re-instated to the Olympic Program. Individual events for men and women were held at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the same happened at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the sport is currently on the schedule for 2024.

Golf is dominated by the United States, with 11 medals and five golds. Three male American golfers have won two medals at the Olympic tournament, but only one of them, Chandler Egan, has a gold and a silver medal. From New Zealand, Lydia Ko is the only golfer with two medals in the women’s Olympic competition.