Here's everything you need to know about 2024 Men's Olympic Golf first-round leader picks — including our expert's three FRL bets for this week's Olympic Games in Paris.
For just the third Olympic Games since 1904, there's a Men's Olympic Golf event that features an abundance of the world's best talent battling for a gold medal. The Albatros Course at Le Golf National hosts the Olympic Games this year in Paris.
Le Golf National is a par-71, 7,174-yard track that has seen plenty of top-level talent walk its grounds. Not only does this venue host the Open de France every year on the European Tour, but it also hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup where Team Europe defeated Team USA.
Le Golf National is a difficult track that rewards accuracy of the tee and on approach due to the tight fairways and abundance of links-style bunkers and water hazards. Golfers also need to stick their approach shots close on these large and fast greens where three-putt avoidance will be key.
Find my 2024 Men's Olympic Golf first-round leader picks below, including a FRL bet for Collin Morikawa.
2024 Men's Olympic Golf First-Round Leader Picks (FRL)
Collin Morikawa +1800 (bet365 | 0.15 Units)
Team USA golfer Collin Morikawa is one of the best in the world and fairly priced as one of the tournament favorites. However, with that in mind, I prefer his FRL price of 18-1 far more than his outright price of 12-1.
I believe that Morikawa is a good bet in any market this week, and I am extremely confident that he will be in the mix come Sunday, but he has struggled to finish recently. He has only secured one victory over the past three years, which came last fall at the Zozo Championship against a relatively weak field.
Meanwhile, Morikawa boasts 25 top-10 finishes over that stretch. He is always right there without actually winning, which is why I prefer one of the best golfers in this field in the FRL market.
Morikawa ranks third on Tour this season in First Round Scoring Average and is one of the most accurate ball-strikers in the world.
Shane Lowry +2500 (bet365 | 0.15 Units)
Shane Lowry of Ireland enters this week in great form after making the weekend in 16 consecutive tournaments. He boasts eight top-20 finishes over that stretch, including his team win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Rory McIlroy.
However, McIlroy carried him down the stretch that week, and I don't necessarily trust Lowry's ability to close out a tournament against this strong of a field and emerge with the gold medal. At the same time, I do trust his ability to at least take down an individual round.
So, why not the first round, considering that Lowry ranks 37th on Tour this season in First Round Scoring Average.
This course profiles well for Lowry to take advantage of his elite iron play, and he has gained strokes on approach in 13 of his past 14 tournaments with ShotLink Data available. Therefore, it shouldn't be that surprising that he has posted two top-17 finishes over his past three appearances at this venue.
Lowry was the first-round leader at this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational, and a similar result could be in store this week.
Corey Conners +3000 (DraftKings | 0.15 Units)
I would argue that Corey Conners is the second-best ball-striker in this field behind Scottie Scheffler, and at 30-1, I will gladly back him to jump out to an early lead. Conners has gained strokes on approach in 23 consecutive tournaments with ShotLink Data available, while also remaining more accurate off the tee than the field average in 16 of those 23 outings.
He hasn't won over that stretch, which is why I prefer him in the FRL market rather than placing a bet on the Canadian to win the gold medal. Conners ranks 10th on Tour this season in First Round Scoring Average and is such a high-floor player who is more trustworthy on a Thursday than on a Sunday.
Here's my full betting card for the 2024 Men's Olympic Golf Competition, and you can find more of my thoughts on this week's tournament on the Links + Locks Best Bets podcast:
- Ludvig Åberg Outright Winner (+1300 at bet365) – 0.3 Units
- Tom Kim Outright Winner (+2800 at DraftKings) – 0.3 Units
- Alex Noren Outright Winner (+3000 at bet365) – 0.3 Units
- Abraham Ancer Outright Winner (+9000 at bet365) – 0.3 Units
- Shubhankar Sharma Top 10 (+900 at DraftKings) – 0.24 Units
- Guido Migliozzi Top 5 (+1100 at DraftKings) – 0.23 Units
- Collin Morikawa FRL (+1800 at bet365) – 0.15 Units
- Shane Lowry FRL (+2500 at bet365) – 0.15 Units
- Corey Conners FRL (+3000 at DraftKings) – 0.15 Units
