The field is officially set for the Summer Olympics Men’s Golf Tournament at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Even with the forced withdrawals of Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Bryson DeChambeau due to negative COVID-19 tests, there’s a strong contingent of PGA Tour golfers present. Below, we look at the Men’s Golf gold medal odds and make our Summer Olympics picks and predictions.
Recent British Open winner Collin Morikawa opens as the betting favorite for the gold medal at +700. Fellow American Xander Schauffele, who’s second by the odds at +900, is the top-ranked golfer in Tokyo at No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings. Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed round out the impressive medal hopefuls for Team USA.
Kasumigaseki CC measures 7,466 yards and plays to a par of 72. The most notable event it hosted was the 2010 Asian Amateur Championship, won by 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. At No. 21 in the Golfweek rankings and fourth by the odds, he’s the host country’s top Men’s Golf medal hopeful.
2021 Summer Olympics Men’s Golf picks: To win gold
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Hideki Matsuyama (+1200)
Matsuyama should and would be a much greater favorite if not for a run of four straight finishes outside of the top 20 and a withdrawal from the Rocket Mortgage Classic since his historic Masters win.
The 29-year-old has six career PGA Tour wins as well as eight on his home Japan Golf Tour, in addition to the 2010 Asian Amateur Championship which he won by five strokes at this venue.
While he has struggled in America since mid-April the lighter schedule has allowed for some extra preparation for the host nation’s top contender.
To win a medal: +400
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Si Woo Kim (+4000)
The “elephant in the room” on the course this week is the need of Kim and South Korean countryman Sungjae Im to win a medal this week in order to avoid mandatory military service which would take them off the PGA Tour for at least 20 months.
Kim, who enters the week 46th in the Golfweek rankings, won the PGA Tour’s The American Express early this year and has two other career wins on the top American circuit. He plays well on long courses and is averaging 0.30 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee this season. He has this week’s top motivation edge and is well-suited for the lengthy venue.
Mackenzie Hughes (+6600)
Hughes has just one career PGA Tour win, but he tied for 15th at the US Open and for sixth at the British Open this year in a stretch of four straight made cuts.
He’s averaging 0.52 SG: Putting per round for the 2020-21 season and that will prove to be a big advantage at a course where few in the field have experience.
PLAY: Men’s Olympic Golf pick’em contest
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Golfweek:
- Captain America: Reed answers call to represent US in Olympics
- Photos: 2021 Olympics at Kasumigaseki Country Club near Tokyo
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