The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that a mixed-team golf event will debut at the Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympic Games.
The mixed event will feature one male and one female athlete from each country, both of whom must have already qualified for the individual Olympic events. It will take place between the men’s and women’s individual tournaments.
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It will be contested as a 36-hole competition, with 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round, followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round.
All three events will be played at the Riviera Country Club in Palisades, California.
Golf, in the form of individual men’s and women’s tournaments, featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics and 1904 Olympics in St Louis before being dropped. It returned to the Olympic program in 2016, hosted by Rio de Janeiro.
It joins archery, athletics, gymnastics, rowing, coastal beach sprint, and table tennis as sports that will feature a mixed-gender competition at LA28.
International Golf Federation director Antony Scanlon said: “Golf was incredibly successful at Paris 2024 and as we continue building on the momentum from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, we're excited to bring even more attention to our sport through this additional format.
“The athletes were very enthusiastic about their desire to play with their compatriots, and we look forward to watching them compete together in Los Angeles.”
Meanwhile, LA28's organizing committee has released its latest venue plan, confirming the use of the city’s most iconic stadiums.
The plan, recently approved by the IOC executive board and the LA City Council, has stayed in line with the IOC’s remit to prioritize existing and temporary venues, with around half of the events staged in Los Angeles, clustering in three major hubs.
Downtown LA will serve as a key hub for the games, with the Dodger Stadium hosting baseball, while recently confirmed boxing’s preliminary rounds taking place at the Peacock Theatre and finals at Crypto.com Arena.
The home of the Lakers and Kings, Crypto.com Arena, will host artistic gymnastics.
Rhythmic gymnastics, meanwhile, was added to the Expo Park hub at USC’s Galen Center, which will also host badminton.
The third major hub in Sepulveda Basin will stage 3×3 basketball, modern pentathlon, BMX, and skateboarding at the recreation center.
New Olympic sports, including flag football and lacrosse, will debut at the Stadium in Exposition Park, while squash will be staged at the Courthouse Square with a backdrop of Universal Studios.
Venice Beach will host triathlon events and act as the start of the marathon and cycling routes. Long Beach, meanwhile, will feature volleyball, coastal rowing.
Cricket’s six-team T20 competition for men and women will be staged at a purpose-built temporary venue at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, South California – 50km to the east of LA.
The Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, host of five American football Super Bowl games, will host Olympic soccer semi-finals and finals, as it did previously during the 1932 and 1984 games.
The Rose Bowl has hosted several major soccer games, including the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, and the 1984 Olympic Soccer gold medal match, as well as CONCACAF and US Soccer matches.
