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When the 2028 Olympics rolls around, there will be more gold medals to be won in the sport of golf.
On April 9, the International Olympic Committee announced that several new medal opportunities are being added in a variety of sports when the Summer Games comes to Los Angeles. Among them is golf, which will debut a mixed-team event that will be held in addition to the individual men’s and women’s tournaments scheduled for Riviera Country Club in 2028.
“The mixed events are a real true embodiment of gender equality – men and women competing in the same team, on the same field of play for their country,” IOC sports director Kit McConnell said in a news conference. “We’ve seen the real success of these [mixed-gender events]. They bring something incredibly special for the athletes involved.”
On Tuesday, the International Golf Federation announced the specific format for the mixed-team event. It follows what the IGF had previously proposed: a two-player 16-team competition over 36 holes that would feature an opening round of foursomes (alternate shot) and final round of four-ball play. The teams would be selected from the 60 men and 60 women already qualified for individual play based on the Olympic Golf Ranking, with only one team per country.
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“We’re absolutely thrilled to see a mixed-team event added to the programme for Los Angeles 2028,” said Antony Scanlon, the IGF Executive Director, in a press release. “Golf was incredibly successful at Paris 2024, and as we continue building on the momentum from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, we’re excited to bring even more attention to our sport through this additional format. The athletes were very enthusiastic about their desire to play with their compatriots, and we look forward to watching them compete together in Los Angeles.”
As for the timing of the event, it will be held between the men’s and women’s individual competitions. It will mark the first time there has been a team golf event in the Olympics since the 1904 games in St Louis.
Currently, the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour hold an unofficial mixed-team event, the Grant Thornton Invitational in December.
In addition to golf, there will be expanded mixed events in archery, track and field (4x100m mixed relay), gymnastics, rowing coastal beach sprint and table tennis.
The IOC also announced that for the first time in history, all team sports will have at least the same number of women’s teams as men’s teams, with water polo adding two women’s teams, making it now 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams.
Football, with 16 female teams, will feature more women’s teams than men’s (12).
