International Golf Federation boss makes Olympic claim during Grant Thornton Invitational

International Golf Federation executive director Anthony Scanlon has told NBC that a mixed team golf format is being "very seriously" considered ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

Scanlon's comments fall during this week's staging of the Grant Thornton Invitational, which sees 16 teams each comprising a PGA Tour pro and an LPGA Tour pro. 

Scottie Scheffler won men's Olympic gold earlier this July in Paris, a week before Lydia Ko took gold in the women's tournament. 

It marked one of nine victories on the season for runaway World No.1 Scheffler. 

Justin Rose and Inbee Park both won gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016, while Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games, which was staged in 2021 as a result of Covid. 

But despite recent Olympic Golf tournaments being contested as normal 72-hole strokeplay events, talks are being held right now to add the possibility of a 36-hole mixed team format too. 

Should the IGF's proposals be given a green light by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the men's tournament would take place as normal first but then be followed by a two-day mixed team event comprising fourballs and foursomes. The women's tournament would then take place as normal after that. 

IGF executive Scanlon revealed the latest talks in an interview with NBC's Rich Lerner this weekend. 

"Yeah very seriously, Rich," replied Scanlon when pressed on whether mixed team golf was being considered for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. 

"We've put a submission to the IOC the beginning of last year and it's being considered by the IOC as I said very seriously. 

"Why? Because I think there was about, well, I know there was about 23 events at the Olympic Games in Paris that were mixed team events. 

"There is great enthusiasm amongst our players to do that event at the Games to add to the success that we've had with the individual events of the men and the women, and with an event such as the Grant Thornton that's on right now, it's - and the great play we are seeing this week - it's another opportunity for our athletes to display their skills together, males and females, and to win another medal."

When Lerner pushed Scanlon further on how logistically the tournament could work, he replied: "What we'll do is we'd have the men's competition start on the Wednesday rather than on the Thursday of the first week of the Olympics. 

"So they would play from Wednesday through to Saturday, similar to what we've been doing with the women's competition at the Games.

"Then the following Sunday, Monday, we would probably start with fourball and then foursomes as a 36-hole event, and then winners get medals, and then two days later on the Wednesday, the women's competiton would start and finish on the Saturday as per what we've done at the previous Games."

Watch Scanlon's comments here: 

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