Olympic golf odds: Can Scheffler or Schauffele add gold to 2024 season?

The PGA TOUR is stepping aside this week to let the Olympic golf competition take center stage.

A 60-man field is in Paris for only the third Olympic golf tournament since 1920. Xander Schauffele is the defending gold medal champion, with a stout field taking on Le Golf National in an attempt to dethrone the American.

The field consists of 21 of the top 50 players in the world, with only the Americans sending more than two players because four golfers ranked inside the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the June 16 deadline.

Scottie Scheffler is the tournament favorite at +360. Schauffele (+600), Rory McIlroy (+800), and Jon Rahm (+1000) round out the top four on the betting board.

Scheffler and Rahm are making their Olympic debuts. McIlroy fell short in a seven-man playoff for bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Olympic golf odds

Odds via theScore bet. Players above +6600 are not listed.

Scheffler's been given a 45.5% implied probability of standing on the podium and a 21.7% chance of winning gold. Working against him is the fact he's never played Le Golf National in competition, as some of his stiffest competition - McIlroy, Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood - played the course during the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Schauffele is in incredible form entering his gold medal defense. There's a case to be made that he should be the betting favorite after hoisting the Claret Jug two weeks ago. Despite not having played the course, his game fits Le Golf National perfectly.

Rahm finished T7 at the Open Championship and won the LIV Golf event last week in England. He's showing flashes of the form he had before joining LIV, and a gold medal would put his name back into the conversation for best player in the world.

Collin Morikawa's game is also trending toward a win. Many liked his chances at Royal Troon and are going back to the well in Paris. His accuracy off the tee should give him a leg up on the competition and put him in the running for a spot on the podium.

Fleetwood and Alex Noren are two former winners at Le Golf National and were members of the winning European side in 2018. Fleetwood went 4-1-0 during that Ryder Cup when he teamed up and dominated with Francesco Molinari.

If the Toyko Games told us anything, spots on the podium are wide open, regardless of the field strength. Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan claimed silver and bronze, respectively, as massive long shots three years ago.