Presently the Olympics only has men's & women's singles competitions for golf. Given all the interest/hype generated by the Ryder Cup, it seems like the Olympics should incorporate team golf into their portfolio for both men and women. The format used by the LPGA for the UL International Crown would seem like a natural fit. Here is an explanation of the format:
http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/international-crown/format
In a nutshell, 8 countries qualify based on world rankings at a specific cut off date and are seeded according to cumulative team world rankings. Each team is comprised of 4 players (the highest ranked players from those countries). The first 3 days they are divided 2 pools:
Pool A: Seeds #s 1, 4, 5, 8
Pool B: Seeds #s 2, 3, 6, 7
On each of those days you play 2 matches of 4 ball against one of the other teams in your pool so that you end up playing all 3 other teams. You get 2 points for a win, 1 point for tie (same as a Ryder Cup 4 ball match).
The top two teams from each pool plus one of the 3rd place teams (determined by a sudden death playoff between two players from each team) advance to the singles event on day 4. That day each team plays 4 singles matches (one player against a single player from each of the other 4 teams). A win is 2 points, a draw 1 point. Points do carry over from the first 3 days. Medals are awarded based on final team points, ties broken by each team picking a player to play sudden death against a player from the other team.
I think this could end up being a great team format for the Olympics since you can involve 8 countries (most/all with legit medal shots) and get it done over 4 days. I think 4 player teams adds a lot over just being 2 player teams like the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf.
There have been 2 previous UL International Crown events and neither were won by the top seed, which is significant since South Korea is perceived to be a super power, maybe even more so than the US is in men's golf. In 2014 Spain (5th seed) was a surprise winner, Sweden (#6 seed) was 2nd, and the big favorite, #1 seed South Korea finished tied for 3rd with Japan (#3 seed).
In 2016 the US (#2 seed) won it with South Korea (#1 seed) in 2nd, Chinese Taipei (#5 seed) and England (#7 seed) tied for 3rd.
As an example of what it could look like, if you go off of current world rankings the men's teams would be:
Pool A:
#1 seed US (with world rankings next to each player)
1. Dustin Johnson
3. Brooks Koepka
4. Justin Thomas
7. Bryson DeChambeau
#4 seed Spain
8. John Rahm
29. Sergio Garcia
30. Rafa Cabrerra Bello
85. Adrian Otaegui
#5 seed South Africa
36. Louis Oosthuizen
45. Branden Grace
62. Charl Schwartzel
69. Dylan Frittelli
#8 seed South Korea
47. B.H. An
56. Siwoo Kim
97. Sungjae Im
112. Meenwhee Kim
Pool B:
#2 seed Great Britain
2. Justin Rose
5. Rory McIroy
12. Tommy Fleetwood
20. Paul Casey
#3 seed Australia
11. Jason Day
23. Mark Leishman
32. Cameron Smith
41. Adam Scott
#6 seed Japan
21. Hidecki Matsuyama
48. Satoshi Kodaira
80. Yuta Ikeda
81. Shugo Imahira
#7 seed Sweden
19. Alex Noren
25. Henrik Stenson
86. Alexander Bjork
144. Marcus Kinhalt
Given the nature of golf with players having hot/cold streaks, and with the type of course and how it is set up having a big impact (which you see with the Ryder Cup), this type of tournament could end up being very competitive. I think it would also help draw the top players to the Olympics since they would have two shots at medals, one in singles and one in the team event.
I know it is too late for them to add team golf to the 2020 Olympics, but they ought to consider it for 2024.
Eventually you could possibly even add a 2nd team event, with it being the same format as above but having two men and two women as the 4 players. Curling went to a mixed team event this past Olympics and it ended up being a successful event. The US team right now for that would be Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Lexi Thompson, and Jessica Korda. They'd be tough to beat on a long course, but I suspect the host nation (unless it was the US) would make sure it wasn't.
Great Britain, South Korea, Sweden, Australia, Japan, and even Thailand could also presently field very strong teams in the mixed format.
http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/international-crown/format
In a nutshell, 8 countries qualify based on world rankings at a specific cut off date and are seeded according to cumulative team world rankings. Each team is comprised of 4 players (the highest ranked players from those countries). The first 3 days they are divided 2 pools:
Pool A: Seeds #s 1, 4, 5, 8
Pool B: Seeds #s 2, 3, 6, 7
On each of those days you play 2 matches of 4 ball against one of the other teams in your pool so that you end up playing all 3 other teams. You get 2 points for a win, 1 point for tie (same as a Ryder Cup 4 ball match).
The top two teams from each pool plus one of the 3rd place teams (determined by a sudden death playoff between two players from each team) advance to the singles event on day 4. That day each team plays 4 singles matches (one player against a single player from each of the other 4 teams). A win is 2 points, a draw 1 point. Points do carry over from the first 3 days. Medals are awarded based on final team points, ties broken by each team picking a player to play sudden death against a player from the other team.
I think this could end up being a great team format for the Olympics since you can involve 8 countries (most/all with legit medal shots) and get it done over 4 days. I think 4 player teams adds a lot over just being 2 player teams like the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf.
There have been 2 previous UL International Crown events and neither were won by the top seed, which is significant since South Korea is perceived to be a super power, maybe even more so than the US is in men's golf. In 2014 Spain (5th seed) was a surprise winner, Sweden (#6 seed) was 2nd, and the big favorite, #1 seed South Korea finished tied for 3rd with Japan (#3 seed).
In 2016 the US (#2 seed) won it with South Korea (#1 seed) in 2nd, Chinese Taipei (#5 seed) and England (#7 seed) tied for 3rd.
As an example of what it could look like, if you go off of current world rankings the men's teams would be:
Pool A:
#1 seed US (with world rankings next to each player)
1. Dustin Johnson
3. Brooks Koepka
4. Justin Thomas
7. Bryson DeChambeau
#4 seed Spain
8. John Rahm
29. Sergio Garcia
30. Rafa Cabrerra Bello
85. Adrian Otaegui
#5 seed South Africa
36. Louis Oosthuizen
45. Branden Grace
62. Charl Schwartzel
69. Dylan Frittelli
#8 seed South Korea
47. B.H. An
56. Siwoo Kim
97. Sungjae Im
112. Meenwhee Kim
Pool B:
#2 seed Great Britain
2. Justin Rose
5. Rory McIroy
12. Tommy Fleetwood
20. Paul Casey
#3 seed Australia
11. Jason Day
23. Mark Leishman
32. Cameron Smith
41. Adam Scott
#6 seed Japan
21. Hidecki Matsuyama
48. Satoshi Kodaira
80. Yuta Ikeda
81. Shugo Imahira
#7 seed Sweden
19. Alex Noren
25. Henrik Stenson
86. Alexander Bjork
144. Marcus Kinhalt
Given the nature of golf with players having hot/cold streaks, and with the type of course and how it is set up having a big impact (which you see with the Ryder Cup), this type of tournament could end up being very competitive. I think it would also help draw the top players to the Olympics since they would have two shots at medals, one in singles and one in the team event.
I know it is too late for them to add team golf to the 2020 Olympics, but they ought to consider it for 2024.
Eventually you could possibly even add a 2nd team event, with it being the same format as above but having two men and two women as the 4 players. Curling went to a mixed team event this past Olympics and it ended up being a successful event. The US team right now for that would be Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Lexi Thompson, and Jessica Korda. They'd be tough to beat on a long course, but I suspect the host nation (unless it was the US) would make sure it wasn't.
Great Britain, South Korea, Sweden, Australia, Japan, and even Thailand could also presently field very strong teams in the mixed format.
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