By Canadian Press

New Olympic mixed-team golf event adds ‘excitement and new energy’ to competition

Apr 16, 2025 | 11:36 AM

Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners have both enjoyed individual success on their respective golf tours over the last decade.

But come 2028, there’s a chance their shared good play could result in an Olympic medal.

This week, the International Olympic Committee executive board approved the addition of a mixed-team event to the Olympic golf competition, which will make its debut in Los Angeles in 2028. It will be a compliment to the existing individual events, with the team golf competition taking place after the men’s event and before the women’s.

Henderson, a three-time Olympian, told The Canadian Press she’s been “very proud” to have the opportunity to represent Canada at the Games. The addition of a mixed event for golf is a great opportunity for the sport, she said.

“(It) adds a certain excitement and new energy to the golf competition,” Henderson said.

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The native of Smiths Falls, Ont. finished tied for seventh in her Olympic debut in Brazil in 2016, tied for 29th in Tokyo, and then tied for 13th last year in Paris.

Henderson, who has 13 LPGA Tour titles including two majors, has been Canada’s top-ranked female golfer essentially since she turned pro 10 years ago. While the 2028 Olympic games are three years away, it’s highly unlikely she will drop out of one of two qualifying spots.

Henderson and Conners, who was also a long-time member of Golf Canada’s national team, have played the last two years as a team in the Grant Thornton Invitational – a three-round event that features teams of stars from the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour taking place in December.

The Canadian duo finished second in 2023 and tied for fourth in 2024 with their world-class ball striking helping to make them a formidable team.

“Having played with Corey at the Grant Thornton Invitational and having some pretty good success there, the added competition gives us another great chance to bring home a medal to Canada,” Henderson said.

The mixed event will be contested as a 36-hole competition: 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round, followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round.

There will be a maximum of one team per country, with teams comprised of one male and one female who are already qualified for the men’s and women’s Olympic golf competitions.

Conners is Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer at No. 21 in the world. He qualified for Paris thanks to finishing tied for ninth at last year’s U.S. Open, earning him the second spot for Canada alongside Nick Taylor. His U.S. Open result saw him leapfrog Adam Hadwin by just one qualifying spot in the world ranking.

It was Conners’s second time as an Olympian. He finished tied for ninth in Paris.

“I think it’s a huge step forward for golf,” Conners said Wednesday at the RBC Heritage. “I’ve certainly enjoyed my two Olympic experiences immensely – but having something like that I think will add a little bit more excitement to the Olympics and to golf. The ladies are so impressive. It’s fun to team up with them.”

Golf is one of six sports to add a mixed-gender competition for 2028 and the addition of the mixed event marks the first Olympic golf team competition since 1904 when the United States swept the podium.

The 2028 Olympics will take place July 14-30, with the golf competition taking place at the iconic Riviera Country Club – the long-time host of The Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour and a multi-time major championship venue.

It will host the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time in 2026 and the U.S. Open in 2031.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2025.

Adam Stanley, The Canadian Press