AUGUSTA — Mixed teams are coming to golf at the Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee made it official Wednesday, when it released the official program for the 2028 Summer Games, in which female athletes are expected to have a slight majority for the first time.
Golf returned to the Olympic program at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games after a 112-year absence, with a men’s tournament having been held in 1900 and again in 1904. Since the return of golf, medals have been awarded in separate competitions — 72 holes of stroke play each — for men and for women at three Olympics.
The International Golf Federation had been lobbying for a mixed-team competition for the past several years without taking away too much time from golfers’ schedules on various professional tours. Still to be determined are how many teams will compete and the qualification process.
“The International Golf Federation is thrilled with the IOC Executive Board’s decision to approve the addition of a mixed-team event to the Olympic Golf program,” the IGF said in a release that indicated more details would be released next week.
The IOC had an online board meeting Wednesday that was co-chaired in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the first time by Kirsty Coventry since she was elected president last month. She takes over in June for Thomas Bach and will be the first female IOC president in its 131-year history.
The men’s competition would start on a Wednesday — one day earlier than before — and end on a Saturday. The mixed teams would compete on Sunday and Monday, with foursomes (alternate shot) used for one round and fourballs (better ball) the other.
Tuesday would be a practice day for the women, and their competition would take place Wednesday through Saturday, one day before the L.A. Games come to a close.
The golf competition is scheduled for Riviera Country Club, a revered PGA Tour stop that has hosted major championships. Riviera is set to host the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time in 2026, and the U.S. Open returns in 2031.
A mixed team event would require only two more days of action for the players who qualify for the Olympics. It’s unlikely any of the top players would be competing the following week at a regular PGA Tour or LPGA Tour event.
Scottie Scheffler won the men’s gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games by closing with a 62 at Le Golf National. Lydia Ko won the women’s gold for Paris — she won the silver in Rio and the bronze in Tokyo in 2021 — which also gave her the career points required to secure her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame.