Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda pairing up for a mixed-team event in the Olympics? It could happen in three years.
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee announced new mixed-gender events when it unveiled the entire sports program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Included is a team competition in Olympic golf, which previously only featured individual men’s and women’s competition. The exact format is to be determined.
“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.”
The only mixed-team event in golf is the Grant Thornton Invitational, a silly season event in December featuring 16 pairs of PGA Tour and LPGA stars competing at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
Last year, the IOC proposal was for a 36-hole team competition featuring 16 teams playing one round of alternate shot and another of fourballs. Golfers would be selected from the 60 men and 60 women already qualified for individual stroke play.
The mixed event would be held Sunday and Monday between the men’s and women’s 72-hole individual tournaments. The men’s competition would likely move to a Wednesday-Saturday schedule, similar to the women’s schedule a week later.
