Where Does Olympic Gold Rank vs The Golf Majors?

Golf is back in the Olympics for the third straight Games after a 112-year wait was ended at Rio 2016.

The Olympics is still a new thing for golfers, with an entire crop of modern pros being given a chance to win gold having grown up never believing they could. The Rio 2016 Games were sadly met with a number of high-profile withdrawals due to the Zika virus while Tokyo 2020 also missed out on some big names due to Covid-19.

However, this year's Games in Paris - with the golf taking place at Le Golf National - sees a super strong field in both the men's and women's tournaments, giving hope that the gold medal is now a real prize in the sport that all of the world's top players want to win.

Justin Rose, Inbee Park, Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda have all won gold medals in the previous two Games, and they've seen their status bumped because of it - but perhaps not as much as they did from their Major wins.

So where does an Olympic gold medal rank vs the Majors? Our team discuss...

Neil Tappin

I think the general perception would be the Olympics sits well below the Majors in terms of importance, but I'm not so sure. 

For the winners, it can be just as transformational as capturing a Major. For instance, imagine if Viktor Hovland wins gold. Would that or a PGA Championship win make him a bigger hero in Norway?

The Olympics feels like a lesser event for golf... Until it starts.

Nick Bonfield

I think a Gold Medal is edging closer to a Major title in terms of stature with every passing Olympics. 

However, I don't see it ever drawing level. 

For a start, it can't compete with the history and traditions of the Majors and interest will never be as high from golf fans. 

Also, the field is far weaker than a Major. Some of the big name male golfers to miss the Olympics on qualifying for Paris are genuinely world-class: the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose. 

The Olympics needs to find a way to expand the field and include more top-class players.

Alison Root

I don’t think the Olympics currently ranks anywhere near the Majors, or even some of the other big championships. 

It is slowly gaining traction, but it’s still a very new tournament. 

Winning a Major is the pinnacle of any golfer’s career, and while I’m sure players would be delighted to win a medal, it would not bring the same satisfaction as winning a Major trophy and all that goes with it.

David Taylor

For me the Olympics is a long way from the Majors in terms of prestige. The Majors are the foundations our sport is built on and the best gauge of a player’s impact on the game.

The Olympics has a limited field and, while it would be nice to have a gold medal on your CV, feels like a bit of an exhibition event in golfing terms. 

This may change in the future, but the fact it only comes around every four years won’t work in its favour. There are dozens of players with one Major to their name who had the perfect week at the right time and are easily forgotten. 

It’s the players who consistently perform over a number of years and peak at the right times who’ll be remembered. 

Was Xander Schauffele considered in the highest bracket before this season because he won gold in Japan? No, it took his brilliance at the Majors this season for him to graduate to the top table, and that will always be the case.

Elliott Heath

I think it ranks as the sixth-highest achievement in the men's game - behind the four Majors and the Players Championship.

In the women's game, it probably ranks sixth, too, behind the five Majors.

I understand the Olympics vs PGA Championship debate, over which is more prestigious, but the PGA Championship has a storied 100+ year history and gets you into that Major for life as well as the other three men's Majors for five years - so you get a guaranteed 20 Majors plus a lifetime exemption into the PGA.

The perks for golfers winning Olympic gold only allow you into four Majors for the men and five for women, so it doesn't come close to winning a Major in terms of actual measurables. 

Still, the chance to win a gold medal should not be underestimated - so for me it ranks just below golf's biggest events. I am a huge fan of golf being in the Games and am delighted to see all of the world's best players support it.

Barry Plummer

I personally would rather watch Olympic golf over the PGA Championship, but I am not sure it ranks anywhere close to the other three Majors. 

Winning a gold medal for your country at an Olympic games must be a huge honor, and one that I believe deserves more respect that it currently receives, but unfortunately it doesn't secure your place in the history books in the same way a Claret Jug or a Green Jacket would.

Matt Cradock

I think the Majors will always stand alone in terms of golf's biggest events but, when you look at how many people watch the Olympics and how it's every four years, it's hard to deny that it's almost at the same table as the men's and women's Majors.

What I particularly like is that there is no monetary value this week and players are competing solely for the chance of a gold medal. When Justin Rose won in 2016, you could tell how much it meant to him and, in the following months, it was so good to see Rose show off the medal and it was almost like he was the perfect player to win. 

Overall though, I would say the Olympics is fifth/sixth in terms of men's and women's events. Arguably, with it being every four years, it should be higher, as players will have very few chances to win a medal.

However, the great golfers are always defined by how many Majors they won, not by how many gold medals...

Jonny Leighfield

Right now, it is undoubtedly a long way short of fourth place in the men's game. But that's because it has no credit in the bank at this stage. 

Most sports - including golf - are obsessed with history and tradition and things aren't respected until they have either of those two behind them.

Plus, golfers haven't grown up watching their heroes competing for medals, so the inspiration level of the Olympics is really quite low. 

The only way the Olympics could go on to compete with a Major is if it stays as a pro event for the next several decades so more and more people watch it, the traditional side is allowed to blossom, and then fans will grow to respect it as a genuine Olympic event.