Olympic Golf Winners and History
Golf made its first Olympic appearance in the second modern games in Paris in 1900. The men’s event was 36-hole stroke play net handicap event. The women played a nine-hole competition.
In 1904 in St. Louis, the games featured a men’s match play event, as well as a men’s team event. The women’s event was sadly dropped.
Just two nations were represented in the 1904 golf event: The United States and Canada. In addition to the medal events, there were various contests including putting and driving.
The gold was won by Canadian George Lyon, in spite of being heavily outnumbered: Of the 77 golfers in the competition 74 were Americans to just three Canadians.
Golf was on the schedule in 1908 in London , but was cancelled at the last minute due to disagreements over the format and a lack of entries. The 1912 and 1920 games also had golf theoretically on the agenda, but lack of interest again resulted in none being played.
New rules in 1921 required that any included sport have an international governing body and be played in 40 countries. Golf, therefore, didn’t make the cut.
Golf did, however, appear as a demonstration sport connected with the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The “Golf Prize of the Nations” competition was held at the Baden-Baden Golf Club ten days after the official games ended in August.
Seven nations participated in the Golfpreis Der Nationen: Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Holland, Hungary and Italy. Two-man teams played 72 holes, with the best aggregate score claiming the “Hitler Trophy.”
At that competition, the English team of Arnold Bently and Tony Thirsk took first place. France took second, while German settled for third.
Golf remained on hiatus at the Olympics until the 2016 games in Rio, when the sport was revived as a part of a two-games test run.
| Year | Course |
| 1900 | Compiegne Golf Course, France |
| 1904 | Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri |
| 1936 | Baden-Baden Golf Club |
| 2016 | Olympic Golf Course, Rio |
| 2020 | Kasumigaseki Country Club |
The Rio Olympic golf competition was a near-run thing, as a course had to be built specifically for the competition. After much difficulty and worrying, the Gil Hanse-Amy Alcott design opened in time for the games.
The 2020 Olympic golf competition was held at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
Lists of Olympic Golf medalists follows:
Men’s Olympic Golf Medalists
| Year | Host | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1900 | Paris | Charlie Sands (US) | Walter Rutherford (Great Britain) | David Robertson (Great Britain) |
| 1904 | St. Louis | George Lyon (Canada) | Chandler Egan (US) | Burt McKinnie (US) Francis Newton (US) |
| 2016 | Rio | Justin Rose (Great Britain) | Henrik Stenson (Sweden) | Matt Kuchar (US) |
| 2020 | Tokyo | Xander Schauffele (US) | Rory Sabbatini (Czech Republic) | Pan Cheng-tsung (Taipei) |
| 2024 | Paris | Scottie Scheffler (US) | Tommy Fleetwood (Great Britain) | Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) |
Women’s Olympic Golf Medalists
| Year | Host | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1900 | Paris | Margaret Abbott (US) | Pauline Whittier (US) | Daria Pratt (US) |
| 1904 | St. Louis | No Women’s Event | ||
| 2016 | Rio | Inbee Park (Korea) | Lydia Ko (New Zealand) | Shanshan Feng (China) |
| 2020 | Tokyo | Nelly Korda (US) | Mone Inami (Japan) | Lydia Ko (New Zealand) |
Men’s Team Golf Medalists
| Year | Host | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1904 | St. Louis | Western Golf Association Robert Hunter Chandler Egan Kenneth Edwards Clement Smoot Walter Egan Daniel Sawyer Edward Cummins Mason Phelps Nathaniel Moore Warren Wood | Trans Mississippi Golf Association Albert Lambert Stuart Stickney Burt McKinnie William Stickney Ralph McKittrick Frederick Semple Francis Newton Henry Potter John Cady John Maxwell | United States Golf Association Douglass Cadwallader Allan Lard Jesse Carleton Simeon Price Harold Weber John Rahm Arthur Hussey Orus Jones Harold Fraser George Oliver |
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