You have just overseen the men’s and women’s golf competitions at one of the most successful recent Olympic Games and have given yourself a week’s holiday as a reward. Now that you are back in your home in Lausanne, Switzerland, after weeks in Paris, what do you do next?
“Play golf with my sons,” Antony Scanlon, executive director of the International Golf Federation, replied with a smile last week as he sat in his office in the Swiss city and reflected on the golf events in the XXXIII Olympiad in France’s capital.
“I had visions of hitting the ball like Scottie [Scheffler], but that wasn’t a reality,” Scanlon said. “Golf is my ‘clear-my-head’ time. Every Sunday I’m home, I play with the kids, maybe nine holes. As they are getting older, you realise those times are few and far between, so nine holes gives us two hours together, and if we play 18 holes as we did on Tuesday [August 13], that gives four hours together. I’ll blink and they’ll be gone.”
Barcelona (1992), Sydney (2000) and London (2012) are considered to have staged three of the best recent Olympic Games. That trio has now become a quartet, joined by Paris 2024. The men’s and women’s golf tournaments served up thrilling final rounds that caught the imagination of those at Le Golf National and the millions watching on television. “In terms of crowd energy and enthusiasm, they sold over 1 million tickets,” Scanlon said. “The television viewing figures are not yet in, but I believe the streaming numbers had increased dramatically from Tokyo [in 2021]. I think 5 percent of the audience were streaming from Tokyo; in Paris, it was up to 15 percent. For me, [Paris] was one of our best golf events, building on the foundations of Rio [2016] and Tokyo. This was my 13th Olympics, and it was one of the best I’ve been to.”
It is not hard to see why. First, the American Scheffler underlined his standing as the world No. 1 by bursting past faltering rivals to equal the course record of 62 and snatch the gold medal after Spain’s Jon Rahm had led by four strokes with eight holes to play. “I’ve gotten the question where this tournament would rank in my opinion or what I would think it would feel like to win,” an obviously disappointed Rahm said after his last round. “I think by losing today, I’m getting a much deeper appreciation of what this tournament means to me than if I had won any medal. I’m getting a taste of how much it really mattered.”
There was only a little less excitement six days later when New Zealand’s Lydia Ko held a five-stroke lead with six holes remaining before achieving victory by two strokes and adding to the silver and bronze medals she had won at previous Olympics. With excitement such as that, the golf events were almost guaranteed to be considered a success. “You don’t get this atmosphere at the Masters,” said Rory McIlroy, a Northern Irishman who played for the combined Ireland team. “It’s different. I think it’s a little more fun than a major. Sort of like a celebration in a way.”
Paris was what Scanlon called a dry games. No alcohol was sold. Was it coincidental there was a decorum about the golf events and few if any rowdy scenes such as have been seen at major championships recently? “The lack of alcohol would have contributed to the good behaviour of the crowd,” Scanlon said. “It was refreshing not to hear the “mashed potato” shout or the “abba, dabba, dos.” I think someone shouted, ‘pomme de terre’ [“mashed potatoes”].”
“They weren’t individuals participating in the games. They were part of a team. I think it was humbling for them to be there.”
Antony Scanlon
Two days after the closing ceremony, Scanlon and his team knew how well they had done. “Several International Olympic Committee members who were there were positive about their experiences, saying that golf has now really arrived at the Olympic Games,” he said. “We received a letter from Kit McConnell, IOC sports director, thanking us for our contribution to a very successful games.”
“The best thing for me is what the players said,” Scanlon continued. “I was delighted to hear that Rory said this was one of the great events in golf. It’s great to have a locker-room leader like him demonstrating his commitment to the game and to other players. Very humbling, actually.
“I think it brought the competitors back to their roots of representing their country. Also, the environment was different. A number stayed in the village, so they were sleeping in a dormitory, eating in a cafeteria, travelling by bus and seeing other world-class athletes who aren’t earning as much as they are, doing the same thing. I think that took them back to their youth, to when they started. They weren’t individuals participating in the games. They were part of a team. I think it was humbling for them to be there.
“Our focus from day one was that the events were staged for the athletes, to make sure that whatever services we delivered, whatever golf course we delivered, was perfect for the athletes. And when they arrived and saw the golf course in the condition it was in and the positive statements as they played it, that ticked the box for us. Services, food, transport, accommodation – they all worked well.”
Even what might have been a hitch when Le Golf National was closed for two hours on the Saturday and Sunday of the men’s event because there was a cycling event outside didn’t faze Scanlon and his team. “Everybody knew we had to get there earlier. There was no impact on the players. Then you saw the emotion that came with the gold medallists on the podium; that ticked that box. The players were there fighting hard for that win.”
Someone once said that change is the price of success, and for Los Angeles in four years, there may well be another golf event, a mixed one over 36 holes. Scanlon has been advocating such an event for some time.
“I think a 72-hole stroke-play event is accepted now as key, but within the 16 days there is a chance of bringing the men’s event forward to start on Wednesday and end on Saturday and on Sunday and Monday have a mixed-team event of foursomes one day and better ball the next. That’s not too much golf. Six full rounds is less than the World Match Play.
“I am getting very positive vibes from both the IOC and the [LA] Organising Committee. Fingers crossed, and with player acceptance as well it should be pretty cool.”
E-MAIL JOHN
Top: Antony Scanlon said playing golf with sons to unwind was going to be a post-Paris activity.
DAVID CANNON, R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES