Before the second round of the Grant Thornton Invitational, Golf Channel's Rich Lerner welcomes Anthony Scanlonwill be broadcast live by the Secretary General of the International Golf Federation.
With many of the PGA Tour and LPGA's top stars playing together this week, Lerner asked Scanlon a simple question. Will golf fans see mixed competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
“Yeah, seriously, I submitted it to Rich. [International Olympic Committee] At the beginning of last year. It is being considered very seriously by the IOC. why? Because I know there were about 23 mixed team events at the Paris Olympics,” Scanlon explained.
“There is tremendous enthusiasm among athletes to compete in the men's and women's individual events, as well as their success in competitions such as the Grant Thornton, which is currently being held. It's a great play to watch and it's another opportunity for our athletes, men and women, to show off their skills together and win medals once again.”
If the IOC passes this proposal (it would be foolish not to), the mixed event will be held over two days at Riveria Country Club. The first round is four balls, and on the second day the format switches to foursomes. It will be played over 36 holes and will soon be followed by a men's individual stroke play competition, but will remain 72 holes like a regular PGA Tour event.
In terms of scheduling, Scanlon plans to hold this mixed event on the Sunday and Monday immediately following the conclusion of the men's competition. Unlike the past three Olympics, the men's tournament begins one day earlier on Wednesday and ends on Saturday. The women's competition begins the following Wednesday, two days after the men's competition ends.
National Olympic committees will select participants for the mixed sports. For example, if the Americans have four male and female players, Team USA might choose Scottie Scheffler and Nellie Korda to represent the Stars and Stripes. Only those who qualify for individual stroke play competitions are eligible to participate in mixed events.
So, with that in mind, let's play a fun game with the athletes who competed in this year's Paris Olympics to see who will compete and win this virtual mixed event.
Virtual Olympic mixed team:
US: Scotty Scheffler, Nellie Korda
Ireland: Rory McIlroy, Leona Maguire
Spain: Jon Rahm, Carlota Ciganda
England: Tommy Fleetwood, Charlie Hull
Sweden: Ludwig Oberg, Maya Stark
Norway: Viktor Hovland, Celine Borge
Mexico: Abraham Ansah, Gabby Lopez
Canada: Corey Connors, Brooke Henderson
Japan: Hideki Matsuyama, Yuka Saso
South Korea: Tom Kim, Go Jin Young
Australia: Jason Day, Hannah Green
Germany: Stefan Jaeger, Esther Hensereit
Denmark: Nicolai Højgaard, Emily Christine Pedersen
new zealand: Ryan Fox, Lydia Ko
South Africa: Christian Bezuidenhout, Paula Leto
France: Mathieu Pabon, Celine Boutier
These teams will be fiercely competitive, but one duo will be better than the rest. Scheffler and Korda made history this year by dominating their respective tours, with a combined 16 wins. Considering how well they have played, it will be impossible to compete against them.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
