Scheffler, Spieth's Ryder Cup teammate, clinched gold for the United States last weekend with an impressive nine-under-par 62 in the final round at Le Golf National. This marked a successful week for men's golf at the Games , which has struggled to establish its prominence in the sport in recent years.
Golf made a comeback to the Olympic stage in Rio De Janeiro in 2016 after over a century's absence, but was overlooked by many big names including Spieth and Rory McIlroy .
The spread of the Zika virus was cited as the reason for their withdrawal, resulting in a diluted field for golf's Olympic return. Five years later, the significance of the Olympic event within men's professional golf was again questioned, as despite a stronger field participating, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the event being played without spectators.
This summer's tournament in the French capital provided the perfect platform for the Olympic tournament to assert its position at the pinnacle of the sport, and it did so following a successful week. A packed leading group led to a thrilling final round in Paris, with Scheffler outperforming the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama, and Jon Rahm.
The leaderboard resembled one you'd see at a major championship, and Scheffler's emotional reaction to winning gold under the US flag confirmed that Olympic golf is here to stay. Spieth, who didn't qualify for the event, watched from home.
However, with the Games moving to LA in 2028, the former world No. 1 has prioritized becoming an Olympian.
"The idea of playing in the Olympics at Riviera when it was announced, it became from a high goal to a top goal," he revealed at the Wyndham Championship this week.
Not only does Spieth aim to represent his country on the Olympic stage, but he also wants to return to competing among the world's best players. "What [making the Olympics] means is you've got to be top six or seven in the world, so you've got to play great, consistent golf over an extended period of time," he further explained.
"So the goal of making that team really, that's great but what it means is you're winning golf tournaments, you're playing well consistently and that's ultimately the goal is being consistently one of the best players because you put yourself in position. That's the fun thing about what we do is having a chance on Sunday. So I'd like to get back to starting to have a chance on Sundays more and then see where that takes me."
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