THE third ever Men's Olympic Golf Tournament gets underway on Thursday with some of the world's best players set for action at the 2024 Games.
But who will claim the podium places at Le Golf National on the outskirts of the French capital?
The field consists of sixty players representing 32 countries on a course that will be familiar to many in the field.
And, the men’s lineup includes 10 of the top 15 players on the Official World Golf Rankings.
The course is a par 71 with three par 5s. It debuted as the host of what now is the FedEx Open de France in 1991.
The track is 7,247 yards for the DP World Tour event, but Nos. 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 all have all be altered for the Games.
A number of this year's field have been successful on the French Open course in previous years.
Italy's Guido Migliozzi (2022), Sweden's Alex Noren (2018) and (GB) Tommy Fleetwood (2016) are all past winners of the France Open that are part of the star-studded field.
The stadium like venue also hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup match between Europe and USA.
Team Europe beat their American counterparts 17 ½ - USA 10 ½ that week to claim the famous trophy.
GB's Tommy Fleetwood had a memorable week with a points haul of 4-1-0 (4 points) on a course he loves.
Stockholm ace Alex Noren also notched a stunning points tally of 3-0-0 (3 points) against the American side.
Rory McIlroy had a mixed bag that week but still took home a couple of crucial points for Europe, and finished the week 2-3-0 (2 points).
He's 15/2 this week, he's normally far shorter, he could well be pick of the bunch in terms of odds from players in single digit betting lines.
The world number three admitted Olympic golf doesn't hold the same pressure as competing in the majors.
A total of five players from the 2018 European Ryder Cup winning side are in action this week in France.
All of the above should be considered as podium contenders after solid seasons to date on the PGA Tour/DP World Tour.
Shane Lowry can also build on a consistent season that has compiled some really notable stats, and the Offaly native has prioritised an Olympic medal for his country.
The Irishman has a poor record on the track but has showed vast improvement on courses he previously struggled on this season - such as Bay Hill, Oak Hill and most recently Royal Troon.
2024 Open and USPGA champion Xander Schauffele won gold at the 2021 Games in Tokyo but can he mount another challenge just two weeks removed from his second major win at Royal Troon?
His Team USA pal, and world number one Scottie Scheffler could be the man to steal the show at Le Golf National but questions remain over his putter after an inconsistent week on the greens at Troon.
Collin Morikawa is flying under the radar, ten top 20s in as many starts but is 9/1 an appealing price?
And it's worth noting, none of the four USA team members have played at this course before, and two of the three are favourites at very short odds.
LIV Golf's Jon Rahm comes into the week off the back of his first win on the PIF-backed tour at their UK JCB event, definitely one to watch but doesn't appeal at 9/1.
Better each-way value comes in the form of European players with plenty more than familiar with the Paris course.
Let's take a look at some value bets that could land a medal at the Paris Games.
All the action from Le Golf National gets underway tomorrow morning from 9AM with full coverage on Discovery +
2016 Open de France winner hasn't fired this season but has been solid on the PGA Tour. Top 40 in most events on the season but can feature on a track he knows well.
The Southport native missed the cut at The Open but can find some form on the Paris track, a long overdue surge could be on the cards.
Ireland' s Lowry Can produce on courses that he's previously struggled on - a prominent major contender this season - and with 6 top-10s on his year to date, the Irishman has his eyes set on gold.
Again, like at Royal Troon, he was one of the first to make the Paris trip for practice rounds.
E-W odds represent for a solid chance for a value return on Sunday as we predicted at The Open.
Mixed form for the young Korean in his last number of outings but finished 6th on this course during last season's Open de France.
He's missed the cut in two of his last five starts but has two top 20 finished as well - one of them a playoff loss to Scottie Scheffler at The Travelers Championship.
The 41-year-old Swede has been in fine form this season without a win on the PGA Tour, at one point stringing together eight straight top-25s.
A past winner on this track, and went 3-0 during a flawless 2018 Ryder Cup showing at Le Golf.
Was 100/1 for the gold medal last week but he odds have dipped into 30/1.
The Belgian finished 4th at this year's USPGA. In five previous starts at Le Golf National, the Belgian has finished T35 or better from four events making the cut.
31-year-old Detry Appearing at his second Olympics, he shared 22nd place in Tokyo but is a far superior player from that of three years ago.
The Italian DP World Tour ace has flown under the radar ahead of this event, a past winner on the course with some real solid form on his season.
He has three top 10 finishes this campaign that includes one win at the KLM Dutch Open.
He knows the course well, and is coming off a T31 finish at The Open.
An E-W bet could work well at a huge price for the world number 131.
Matthieu Pavon @ 80/1
Jason Day @ 55/1
Scottie Scheffler (USA) 3-1
Xander Schauffele (USA) 5-1
Rory McIlroy (IRL) 13-2
Ludvig Aberg (SWE) 11-1
Collin Morikawa (USA) 11-1
Jon Rahm (ESP) 12-1
Viktor Hovland (NOR) 17-1
Tommy Fleetwood (GBR) 20-1
Tom Kim (KOR) 20-1
Joaquin Niemann (CHI) 20-1
Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 22-1
Shane Lowry (IRL) 24-1
Corey Conners (CAN) 30-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick (GBR) 30-1
Sepp Straka (AUT) 40-1
Alex Noren (SWE) 50-1
Min Woo Lee (AUS) 50-1
Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 50-1
Carlos Ortiz (MEX) 50-1
Wyndham Clark (USA) 50-1
Matthieu Pavon (FRA) 50-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA) 50-1
Abraham Ancer (MEX) 60-1
Jason Day (AUS) 60-1
Guido Migliozzi (ITA) 65-1
Stephan Jaeger (GER) 70-1
Adrian Meronk (POL) 70-1
Thomas Detry (BEL) 70-1
Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 75-1
Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN) 75-1
Ryan Fox (NZL) 85-1
Mito Pereira (CHI) 85-1
David Puig (ESP) 90-1
CT Pan (TPE) 100-1
Victor Perez (FRA) 100-1
Keita Nakajima (JPN) 100-1
Erik Van Rooyen (RSA) 100-1
Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 125-1
Nick Taylor (CAN) 125-1
Kevin Yu (TPE) 150-1
Matteo Manassero (ITA) 150-1
Sami Valimaki (FIN) 175-1
Kiradech Aphibarnat (THA) 200-1
Matti Schmid (GER) 200-1
Alejando Tosti (ARG) 200-1
Joel Girrback (SUI) 200-1
Gavin Green (MAS) 250-1
Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 250-1
Adrien De Chassart (BEL) 300-1
Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 300-1
Tapio Pulkkanen (FIN) 300-1
Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) 300-1
Daniel Hillier (NZL) 300-1
Nico Echavarria (COL) 300-1
Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 400-1
Kris Ventura (NOR) 400-1
Dou Zecheng (CHN) 400-1
Camilo Villegas (COL) 500-1
Carl Yuan (CHN) 500-1
Rafael Campos (PUR) 500-1
