Gold, Gold, and Gold! Well, that’s the usual aim when one goes to the Olympics. And many in the golf world also sport the same opinion, be it Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, or Shane Lowry. But there’s someone who has managed to, as always, stick out like a sore thumb… or a not-so-sore thumb in this case? Anyway, just believe us when we say he’s the odd one out! Yes, who else but Scottie Scheffler, the current No. 1 in the world?

Many of the golfers in the Paris Games were asked to write out their nicknames, country, favorite Olympic sport, the number of their appearances, and their goal for the event on a whiteboard. Amongst all of these athletes, only Scheffler sported a different goal for the quadrennial event instead of clinching a gold medal: “Have Fun!”

It seems ironic, doesn’t it? Especially when it comes from a golfer who has raked in the most victories this season on the PGA Tour. Out of the 16 starts he made this season, Scheffler has finished a total of 14 times inside the top 10 with six wins, two runner-up places, and one T3 finish. Interestingly, his victories also include a major triumph and four signature event victories.

Although there were others who didn’t outright mention they wanted a gold medal among the PGA Tour Pros, they did express a similar line of thought. Tommy Fleetwood wrote, “A medal for Team GB,” while the likes of Ryan Fox and Ludvig Aberg stated how they wanted a “Medal” at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Now, let us get back to Scheffler. The 2-time major champ had mentioned ahead of the 2024 Open Championship that he never wanted to be a celebrity but just hoped to be a good athlete in the sport. “I just wanted to become a good golfer and get the most out of myself,” said the American Pro, “It’s brought me this far, so I continue to just try to keep my head down and put in the work that got me here and just continue to practice and hopefully continue to get better.” 

Well, seeing as how such an attitude helped him gain so much on the greens, one can’t help but worry for the other golfers, including Rory McIlroy, who is focused on getting a Gold at the event.

Rory McIlroy’s ‘Goal’ for the Olympics is a gold, unlike Scottie Scheffler

Rory McIlroy had put down “Gold” under his “Paris Goal.” Moreover, he had also expressed how winning the same would be a tremendous accolade in his career. “It would be the achievement, certainly of the year,” said the athlete, “I think for me, it’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the big four [major championships] in 10 years. It would probably be one of, if not the biggest in my career for the last [decade].”

The Northern Irishman boasts a total of six top-10 finishes, including two victories this season on the PGA Tour. But his most notable performance came at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, when he missed his chance to clinch a major win in 2024. He fell short of claiming another title at the prestigious event, all the while failing to break his 10-year major drought, the last of which came at the 2014 PGA Championship. But will he be able to beat Scottie Scheffler? Who’s out to have some fun? The golf world sure is up for a scintillating weekend!