Golf ready to burnish Games status as US big names tee off

PARIS : Golf is poised to cement its place in the Olympics as the biggest names in the men's game gather in Paris this week after a season in which Tokyo champion Xander Schauffele and U.S. teammate Scottie Scheffler have stood out from the pack.

The Olympic golf competition at Le Golf National south of the French capital will extend golf's brief history at the Games, with the sport having returned to the fold in Rio in 2016 after a century-long absence.

A closely-fought Tokyo men's tournament, in which Schauffele fulfilled Olympic dreams that had slipped away from his German father due to a road accident as a young athlete, fired up interest in the Olympics as a golf fixture.

Paris organisers are hoping to generate even more passion, free of the COVID-19 constraints of three years ago at a venue with the kudos of having hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018.

Schauffele arrives in the French capital on the crest of a wave, having triumphed at the British Open to notch up his second major title only two months after clinching his first at the PGA Championship.

After overcoming blustery Scottish weather at the British Open, the Californian credited his breakthrough at the PGA Championship in May for giving him calmness and quipped of his Olympic title defence: "Onto the next one."

He joins world number one Scheffler, who bagged the Masters in April as part of a stunning six tour successes this year, last year's U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa in a U.S. team that was the only one to secure the maximum four qualifiers for the Paris competition.

After enjoying some downtime in Paris, Scheffler like his rivals will be focused on a medal - an increasingly sought-after prize in golf.

"It's not very