The 2024 Paris Olympics golf field features 10 major winners amongst the 60-player field, including all four golfers representing Team USA. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark have combined to win seven major championships, as well as one Olympic medal, courtesy of Schauffele taking home gold four years ago. The only other nation in the 2024 Olympics men's golf field with multiple major winners is Ireland, with Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Le Golf National will host the 2024 Summer Olympics men's golf tournament, with play teeing off on Thursday. The four other major winners set to compete are Australia's Jason Day, Spain's Jon Rahm, Great Britain's Matt Fitzpatrick and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama. Scheffler is the 3-1 favorite in the 2024 Olympics men's golf odds, followed by Schauffele (5-1), McIlroy (13-2) and Morikawa (11-1). Before making any 2024 Paris Olympics men's golf picks or bets, you need to see the Paris Olympics 2024 predictions and men's golf best bets from insider Patrick McDonald.
McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022 after stops at NBC Sports and RyderCup.com. Covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more. Featured weekly on the Early Wedge, he has given out numerous winners already in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Open and Xander Schauffele (20-1) at the PGA Championship. Anyone who has followed his lead is way up.
Now, McDonald has focused his attention on the 2024 Olympics men's golf field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can only see them here.
Top 2024 Paris Olympics golf expert picks
One shocker from McDonald: The expert is fading Ludvig Aberg (11-1), who is priced too short to back in such a talented field. This will be Aberg's first Olympics appearance, and he enters off a rough outing at The Open. Aberg shot over par in both of his rounds and missed his second cut of the season. His first missed cut came at another major -- the PGA Championship -- so he's struggled in the biggest of tournaments in 2024.
His off-the-tee numbers are trending in the wrong direction, which doesn't bode well at a course like Le Golf National. Additionally, McDonald notes those issues are compounded by his weaknesses in the short game, as he ranks 88th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: around the green and 79th in total putting. "Still only with one win on the PGA Tour, Aberg is listed at a shorter price than major winners like Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa." See who else to fade here.
On the other hand, McDonald loves the value of Sepp Straka (40-1). The 31-year-old Austrian is currently ranked No. 26 in the world and he's 18th in the FedEx Cup standings, thanks in large part to a five-tournament stretch earlier in the season where he had four top-10 finishes. That included top-fives at the RBC Heritage, the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament.
He's a two-time PGA Tour winner, scoring victories at the 2022 Honda Classic and the 2023 John Deere Classic. He was also top 10 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and he's been flushing it of late entering the 2024 Paris Olympics. Over the last three months, Straka ranks fifth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach and second in driving accuracy.
"Anytime we can get Straka at this price in a 60-man field where only 30 players have a real chance to medal, you got to jump in," McDonald said. "The lone Austrian in the games has been stellar in 2024 with three top fives on the PGA Tour and a top 25 in his last start at The Open where he gained in every facet of the game." See who else to back here.
How to make 2024 Olympic golf picks
McDonald has locked in his men's golf best bets for the Paris Olympics 2024 and he is targeting another big longshot. This golfer doesn't have a ton of name recognition in the USA, but has dominated on European soil. You can only see the picks at SportsLine.
So which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 Paris Olympics men's golf tournament, and which longshot should you back? Check out the 2024 Olympics golf odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top picks for Olympic men's golf 2024, all from the expert who has given out numerous winners already this year, including Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship.
2024 Paris Olympics men's golf odds, field
See full the Paris Olympics men's golf 2024 picks, best bets and predictions here.
Scottie Scheffler (USA) 3-1
Xander Schauffele (USA) 5-1
Rory McIlroy (IRL) 13-2
Ludvig Aberg (SWE) 11-1
Collin Morikawa (USA) 11-1
Jon Rahm (ESP) 12-1
Viktor Hovland (NOR) 17-1
Tommy Fleetwood (GBR) 20-1
Tom Kim (KOR) 20-1
Joaquin Niemann (CHI) 20-1
Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 22-1
Shane Lowry (IRL) 24-1
Corey Conners (CAN) 30-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick (GBR) 30-1
Sepp Straka (AUT) 40-1
Alex Noren (SWE) 50-1
Min Woo Lee (AUS) 50-1
Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 50-1
Carlos Ortiz (MEX) 50-1
Wyndham Clark (USA) 50-1
Matthieu Pavon (FRA) 50-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA) 50-1
Abraham Ancer (MEX) 60-1
Jason Day (AUS) 60-1
Guido Migliozzi (ITA) 65-1
Stephan Jaeger (GER) 70-1
Adrian Meronk (POL) 70-1
Thomas Detry (BEL) 70-1
Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 75-1
Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN) 75-1
Ryan Fox (NZL) 85-1
Mito Pereira (CHI) 85-1
David Puig (ESP) 90-1
CT Pan (TPE) 100-1
Victor Perez (FRA) 100-1
Keita Nakajima (JPN) 100-1
Erik Van Rooyen (RSA) 100-1
Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 125-1
Nick Taylor (CAN) 125-1
Kevin Yu (TPE) 150-1
Matteo Manassero (ITA) 150-1
Sami Valimaki (FIN) 175-1
Kiradech Aphibarnat (THA) 200-1
Matti Schmid (GER) 200-1
Alejando Tosti (ARG) 200-1
Joel Girrback (SUI) 200-1
Gavin Green (MAS) 250-1
Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 250-1
Adrien De Chassart (BEL) 300-1
Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 300-1
Tapio Pulkkanen (FIN) 300-1
Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) 300-1
Daniel Hillier (NZL) 300-1
Nico Echavarria (COL) 300-1
Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 400-1
Kris Ventura (NOR) 400-1
Dou Zecheng (CHN) 400-1
Camilo Villegas (COL) 500-1
Carl Yuan (CHN) 500-1
Rafael Campos (PUR) 500-1