Dean Etheridge
This week sees the stars of both the PGA and European Tour heading off to Tokyo for the delayed 2020 Olympics Games.
Instead of playing for cash and FedEx points, the players will instead be battling it out for the prestige and honor of winning Olympic medals.
The Course
The event is to be played at the 36 hole Kasumigaseki Country Club. The club has a West Course, and an East Course. The Olympic Games Gold Medal match is taking place on the Par 72, East Course.
- Event – 2020 Olympic Games Gold Medal
- Date – July 29th to August 1st
- Venue – Kasumigaseki Country Club, 3398 Kasahata, Kawagoe, Saitama 350-1175, Japan
Qualification for the Olympics
There are to be 60 men from 36 different nations competing at the games, with a maximum of four (male) players per nation.
Players ranked in the top 15 on 21st June 2021 automatically qualified, with the remaining spots going to the highest-ranked players from nations that didn’t already have two players qualified for the event.
The USA was the only nation to have a maximum of four men qualify for the Olympics. The four men are Collin Morikawa, Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas.
World No.2 Dustin Johnson did qualify automatically for the tournament but decided not to take part. Choosing instead to focus purely on the FedEx Cup and regular golf season.
Let’s have a look at the chances of the four Americans, starting with tournament betting favorite Collin Morikawa.
| Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 Golf Betting |  |  |
| Collin Morikawa (USA) | +700 | +700 |
| Xander Schauffele (USA) | +900 | +750 |
| Justin Thomas (USA) | +1000 | +750 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) | +1100 | +900 |
| Viktor Hovland (NOR) | +1100 | +1100 |
| Rory McIlroy (IRL) | +1200 | +1000 |
| Patrick Reed (USA) | +1400 | +1200 |
| Paul Casey (GBR) | +1400 | +1400 |
| Cameron Smith (AUS) | +1800 | +1900 |
| Abraham Ancer (MEX) | +2000 | +2000 |
| Joaquin Niemann (CHI) | +2000 | +2100 |
| Shane Lowry (IRL) | +2000 | +2100 |
| Sungjae Im (KOR) | +2200 | +2100 |
| Corey Connors (CAN) | +2600 | +2800 |
| Tommy Fleetwood (GBR) | +2800 | +2800 |
| Marc Leishman (AUS) | +3000 | +3300 |
Check out our Golf Betting page for more expert advice and betting offers.
Can Morikawa add Olympic gold to his growing trophy collection?
The US has three of the four favorites in the Olympic Games betting odds. It’s hardly a surprise to see the current British Open champion as the front runner.
As well as winning the Open, Collin Morikawa is also up to a career-high world ranking of 3. He only turned professional in 2019 and already has 2 major wins under his belt.
Quite simply, Morikawa is golf’s hottest prospect. He has taken the game by storm over the last 2 years, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him add an Olympic gold medal to his already impressive portfolio at the tender age of 24.
Morikawa is +700 to win Olympic gold.
Is it time for Xander Schauffele to shine?
Next in the betting comes Xander Schauffele. The Californian has just reclaimed the No.4 ranking spot in the world. He’s yet to win a major championship but has three career top 3 finishes to his name.
This year he’s had a mixed bag in the majors. Most recently at the British Open, he finished in 26th. Previous to that he was 7th in the US Open, missed the cut at the PGA, and finished 3rd at the US Masters.
Despite his unpredictable form this year, he still enters the Olympics as the second favorite at +900.
Can Justin Thomas come good again?
Next, we have one-time major winner Justin Thomas. When Thomas won the PGA back in 2017, he looked set to take the golfing world by storm. It’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to his reputation since, and at times he has flattered to deceive.
Nevertheless, Thomas is another of those players with the ability to win any event at the elite level. If you believe Justin Thomas can come good at the Olympics, he is +1000 to win gold.
Question – Do you remember the moment when you decided: If the #Olympics is an option, I will do it?
For @JustinThomas34, there was never a doubt. pic.twitter.com/gU9t8ndSef
— Olympic Golf (@OlympicGolf) July 28, 2021
Late replacement Reed could be a good value pick
The final man in the USA quartet is Patrick Reed. Although Reed is the outsider of the four, he arguably offers better value than Schauffele and Thomas at +1400.
Reed hasn’t had the worst season. He has top 20 finishes in the three US-based majors, while at the British Open he failed to make the cut.
He has a FexEx Cup rank of 19, and has been hovering around that mark for most of the season. This shows he has been a fairly steady performer.
I’m not saying I’d be loading up on the Texan to win, but he’s the last-minute call-up to the USA Olympics team and could be a player who upsets the odds.
Outside Bets
One guy I like the look of who is playing in the competition is Tommy Fleetwood.
Similar to Patrick Reed, the English golfer is only in the field due to a withdrawal. In Fleetwood’s case, it’s because Tyrrell Hatton pulled out.
Sport often throws up these quirky outcomes. A guy who’s not even meant to be at the competition goes and wins it.
Fleetwood hasn’t had his greatest year so far. At the British Open Championship two weeks ago he finished tied 33, on 2 under par.
He was one of the fancied players competing at Royal St Georges, and although he didn’t ever threaten to win the Open, he wasn’t a disaster either.
Fleetwood is one of these players that has a big win in him though. He’s often talked about as a contender for the majors, and so far he hasn’t delivered on the big stage.
Even though this isn’t a major, could this be his time? Fleetwood is +2800 to bring home the gold.
