In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan. A stately pleasure-dome decree… And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills… Enfolding sunny spots of greenery…

Grandeur, inspiration, vision,  as well as poetic frustration all loom large in Samuel Coleridge’s magnum opus about Kubla Khan’s legendary summer palace complex. Almost as iconic a modern arena, with an enviable record of dramatic events, and the scene for human triumph and heartbreak is Le Golf National — the venue for the ongoing golf event at the 2024 Games. Four decades ago it was a vast expanse of cornfields, but the Albatros layout at the National — a course built in 1991 — has quickly acquired a reputation as being a superlative test of golf. The closing act—the last four holes crisscrossed with rills and lakes dubbed, ‘The Gauntlet,’ for their setup designed to create last-gasp drama — are not to be trifled with. 

But with calm weather and reasonable pin positions the first two days saw the course offer easy pickings for the field. Expect that to change today as the final round of the 2024 Olympics Golf unfolds. It’s quite likely that these final holes, especially the spectacular 466-yard par-4 18th is where the medal winners will be decided. 

Already, the 18th hole has recorded its share of triples and quadruples over the first two rounds.

Le Golf National is the only golf club in the world to host both—the Ryder Cup, and the Olympics. And the man hoping to make it a unique double is defending champion Xander Schauffele, who is hoping to become not just the first man in the Open era to win two Olympic medals (gold or otherwise) and the only one to have won an Olympic medal as well as the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in the same year. Schauffele was tied for the lead at 11-under par with Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama going into the penultimate round. The man most capable of denying the World number two, is, well, the top-ranked golfer in the world—Scottie Scheffler—who’s won no less than six times in 2024. Tommy Fletwood, who made short work of this layout at the 2018 Ryder Cup is the punter’s favourite to take a medal home. Rory McIlroy, who very nearly won a medal in 2020 is in the hunt as well. The Ulsterman, somewhat chastised by his last-minute loss at the US Open seems to have got past the setback, and has been playing like he’s got nothing to lose. Another man with nothing to lose, and with experience of shining on this stage is an unlikely hero. CT Pan, the bronze medallist from 202O will be hoping for an encore in a field stacked with talented debutants including the likes of Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark. Pan was ranked 181st in the world in 2020 but came from nowhere to win a seven-man playoff for third place. Aberg, as well as Adrien Dumont de Chassart, and Keita Nakajima, (also in the field) competed in the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship at this very venue and are well versed with the challenges posed by Le Golf National. 

Let’s not forget our very own Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar, Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar, all players of high calibre more than capable of holding their own and winning against a world class field. At the time this column is being written, Sharma is steady at two-under par while Bhullar has clawed his way back after a 4 over-par first round. Ashok and Dagar will tee it up in the women’s event in the coming week and the expectations are much higher from them than their male cohorts. In fact Ashok, who missed out on a medal by a whisker at the 2020 Games achieved in that one outing what all the stars in India’s golf firmament have failed to do: take the game to the masses. Never before did such a large audience, the majority of which did not even understand the game, let alone play it, sit in front of a golf telecast and spur Ashok to the finish line. That inspired putting by Ashok is deeply etched on our national sports psyche. Other interesting side stories to come from the Games include the special significance for several players. Min Woo Lee from Australia will witness his sister Minjee compete in the women’s event the following week, marking a unique brother-sister duo in Olympic golf. Byeong Hun An of Korea carries the legacy of his parents, both Olympic medallists in table tennis. 

The Olympics have a way of inspiring players, much like the Ryder Cup does for Americans and Europeans, in a way that regular tour events cannot. The privilege of playing for your country, living at the Games village, and being watched by millions around the world, is an experience that, according to the 2016 winner Justin Rose, is irreplaceable in the world of sport. This year with over 30,000 visitors in the gallery, golf at the Olympics has finally arrived. And it goes beyond national pride. The stakes are high for the players even from a nuts and bolts perspective. The gold medalist will secure exemptions into all major championships and prestigious tournaments in the 2025 season, making this Olympic showdown a pivotal moment in their careers. The stage is set, the final round for the mens’ event tees off at 1230 pm IST. No reminders required.