2024 Paris Olympics Round 1 golf picks, predictions, odds, tee times: Betting advice from proven golf expert

Mike McClure just locked in his Paris Olympics 2024 best bets for Round 1 of the Olympic men's golf tournament at Le Golf National

By CBS Sports Staff

Jul 31, 2024 at 12:25 pm ET • 3 min read

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Round 1 of the 2024 Paris Olympics men's golf tournament is set to get underway on Thursday, Aug. 1. With a gold medal on the line, there are some star-studded groupings set to tee off as play begins at the Summer Games. American Xander Schauffele is the reigning gold medalist and he'll be paired with Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm through the first two rounds. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, will play alongside Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg at Le Golf National just outside of Paris. The Round 1 tee times begin on Thursday at 3 a.m. ET.

Scheffler is making his first Olympics golf appearance but is the +300 favorite to win gold according to the latest 2024 Olympics golf men's odds. The No. 1 ranked player in the world is going off at +1000 to be the leader after Round 1. Should Scheffler be part of your betting strategy for Round 1, or should you look elsewhere for value? Before you consider any 2024 Paris Olympics golf picks for Round 1, you need to see the Paris Olympics 2024 predictions and men's golf best bets from SportsLine's Mike McClure.

McClure built SportsLine's proprietary golf model, which has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up nearly $9,000 on its best bets since June 2020, nailing tournament after tournament.

This same model has also nailed a whopping 13 majors entering the weekend, including the 2024 Masters, its third Masters in a row, and this year's PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has focused his attention on Round 1 of the 2024 Olympics men's golf tournament and locked in his best bets and top head-to-head matchups to target. You can only see them here.

Top 2024 Paris Olympics golf picks for Round 1

McClure is backing Hideki Matsuyama (-125) to beat Min Woo Lee in Round 1. Matsuyama finished T-4 at the Tokyo Olympics and has been playing well on the PGA Tour this season, racking up one win and five top-10 finishes. Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, remains one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour. He enters the 2024 Paris Olympics ranked seventh on tour in strokes gained: total (1.283), 31st in strokes gained: approach to green (0.365) and 38th in strokes gained: off the tee (0.329).

Lee, meanwhile, has secured just one top-20 finish in his last 11 starts on the PGA Tour. Lee's struggles can be directly attributed to his inconsistent iron play. He enters the Summer Games ranked 140th on tour in greens in regulation percentage (63.78%) and 142nd in strokes gained: approach to green (-0.326). He's also struggled with a putter in his hands, ranking 104th in strokes gained: putting (-0.028) and 150th in one-putt percentage (36.97%), a big reason why McClure is backing Matsuyama in this Round 1 head-to-head matchup. See who else to back right here.

How to make 2024 Olympic Round 1 golf picks

McClure has locked in two more best bets for Round 1, including a head-to-head matchup involving Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. You absolutely need to see his best bets for Round 1 before locking in any 2024 Summer Olympics men's golf picks of your own. You can only see the picks at SportsLine.

So what are the best bets you should target for Round 1 of the 2024 Paris Olympics men's golf tournament, and who wins the matchup between Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy? Visit SportsLine to see Mike McClure's top picks for Round 1 of the 2024 Olympic men's golf tournament, all from the expert whose model is up nearly $9,000 on its best bets since June 2020.