For the first time in more than a century, women’s golf will return to the summer Olympics with the best in the world set to compete at Rio 2016. 60 professional golfers from all over the world have made the trip to Brazil for the opportunity to win gold for their country on the grandest of international stages. Here is a look at what to expect at the Rio 2016 Olympics women’s golf event this week.
Event Details
Event: Rio 2016 Summer Olympics Women’s Golf
Category: Olympics
Date: August 17-20
Location: Olympic Golf Course, Reserva de Marapendi, Rio de Janeiro
Justin Rose took home the gold for Great Britain on the men’s side last weekend, edging out Henrik Stenson of Sweden with a birdie on the final hole. Stenson settled for silver while Matt Kuchar took home the bronze for the United States. There should be similar drama on the women’s side this week with an absolutely loaded field that will features the best in the world right now.
What To Know About The Course
The Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro will be a strong test for Driving Accuracy as the most important statistic to keep an eye out for this week. Winning will likely come down to which golfer is the most accurate off the tee, as well as which golfer can consistently sink her putts once she reaches the greens. Power won’t be nearly as important at the Olympic venue and experience won’t factor in to the equation either with the majority of the field playing at this course for the first time.
The Field
It should be no surprise that world No. 1 Lydia Ko is the outright betting favorite to win this event at +300 odds, as she carries over her heavyweight status from the LPGA Tour to represent New Zealand this week. Rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn will represent Thailand as the next in line behind Ko at +600 odds followed by a pair of Americans listed at +1200 odds in Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis. Canada will be hoping for a surprise medal in this event – something they hadn’t perceived to be a real opportunity prior to 2016. Rookie Brooke M. Henderson has been fantastic and should be in the running for a bronze medal. She is currently No. 3 in both the Rolex and CME golf rankings.
Even with so much talent at the top the field projects to be fairly wide open with a number of sleeper picks looking to win gold, including our pick for the most likely value play to come through in Anna Nordqvist of Sweden.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Anna Nordqvist over Brooke Henderson
Canadian Brooke Henderson is listed at +1240 odds but the 18-year-old will have the pressure of an entire nation on her shoulders and despite flashes of success on the LPGA Tour this season we predict it’s better to fade her this week. Nordqvist is the perfect value play in the head-to-head betting matchup as the veteran Swede will look to pick up from where Stenson left off and try to deliver a gold for her home country. The winner of six LPGA Tour events definitely has the experience and talent to thrive under these conditions and she is a smart bet matched up against Henderson at Rio this week.
Top-Five Pick: Lydia Ko
Jutanugarn might be another popular pick this week but we will stick with experience and roll the dice on the top-ranked player in the world at this week’s Olympic event. Ko has absolutely dominated on the LPGA Tour and we believe she will be that much more dialed in with the opportunity to deliver a gold medal for her native country in New Zealand. Ko has the skill set to blow away this field if she is dialed in and with top-four finishes in five of her last six starts overall she should be a lock to finish in the top-five in Rio.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Gold Medal
Lydia Ko +305
Ariya Jutanugarn +650
Stacy Lewis +905
Lexi Thompson +1215
Brooke M Henderson +1240
In Gee Chun +1550
Sei Young Kim +2050
Anna Nordqvist +2050
Shanshan Lee +2050
Haru Normura +2550
