5 golfers who beat the odds to become Olympians

The last Olympic golf competition was a leading indicator for its two gold medalists: Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda have each reached even greater heights in 2024. What will the upcoming games in Paris portend for the collection of world athletes hoping to challenge the marquee favorites, both of whom are back to defend? Will ascendent young star Ruoning Yin extend China’s traditional strengths in diving, weightlifting, table tennis and gymnastics and win the country’s first golf gold medal? Will Frenchman Victor Perez build on the game’s momentum in the host country that started with the 2018 Ryder Cup? Can a player like the Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan energize an Olympics-mad fan base in her non-traditional golf country the way India's Aditi Ashok did in Tokyo in 2021? Meet Yin, Perez and Pagdanganan along with Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela—five players with very different journeys to Le Golf National on Aug. 1 (men’s competition) and Aug. 7 (women’s competition).

RUONING YIN

AGE 21, KUNMING, CHINA

There’s nothing subtle about the way Ruoning Yin exploded into professional golf as a teenager. The tiny-but-mighty 5-foot-2 powerhouse won her first three events as a pro on the China LPGA Tour, then won twice as a teenager on the LPGA Tour—including her first major at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The moment wasn’t too big for her to reach No. 1 in the world later in the year before Korda began her recent run. But the Olympics? That’s another story.

“It’s already giving me goosebumps,” says Yin, who averages 265 yards off the tee to go with upper-echelon ball-striking and short game. “I feel a bit of pressure to compete because I feel like if you finish outside the top three, you miss the cut, but I will try to enjoy it because it’s my first time—enjoy the journey and the process and try not to focus on the result.”

Her results during her first two LPGA seasons are what have made her more than a known name in sports-mad China: She’s now getting recognized on the street when walking in her mother’s hometown by fans who want an interaction with the first Chinese player to rise to the top of the game since Shanshan Feng in 2017. Yin also will be one of the favorites to expand China’s medal-winning dominance beyond its traditional power in diving, weightlifting, table tennis and gymnastics—even if she isn’t quite ready to wrap her head around that possibility.

“It’s an honor to represent your home country and especially to wear that shirt with the national flag on it.”

VICTOR PEREZ

AGE 31, SEMEAC, FRANCE

Victor Perez will be hard to miss in Paris. The three-time winner on the DP World Tour stands out in a crowd anyway because of his 6-foot-5 frame, but he will also be wearing the home colors and competing for France along with countryman Matthieu Pavon. For Perez, the Games are the latest in a methodical rise from college golf through Europe and onto the PGA Tour for 2024.

Perez played at the University of New Mexico from 2011 to 2015 before working his way up through the Alps Tour and then to the European Challenge Tour in 2017. Two wins there propelled him to the DP World Tour, and last year Perez won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship—which helped lock down a top-10 finish in the season-ending rankings that earned him a spot on the PGA Tour for 2024. Ironically, shifting away from Europe to play has probably made his prep for a home Olympics more focused and serene.

“Being in America has helped,” says Perez, who has three top-25s in his early PGA Tour career. “You’re not constantly talking about it or being in the shadow of it. But I know the energy is going to start peaking now that it’s close.”

BIANCA PAGDANGANAN

AGE 26, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES

Does the experience an athlete gains at the Olympics really count when the games are played almost in a vacuum, as they were in Tokyo during the pandemic? Bianca Pagdanganan lived her dream of making it to the Olympics but playing on empty, fan-restricted courses with only her caddie to interact with left her feeling detached from the excitement her friends experienced watching her on television. She’s aiming for the full experience in Paris, from competing to taking in the sights in and out of the Olympic Village.

“Growing up, the Olympics was the biggest stage you could be on. Getting there was just surreal, and when you got to the course, you could feel how grand it was,” she says. “I knew I was in the Olympics, but it was a little strange with all the restrictions and no spectators. I’m looking forward to the spectacle and to experience all the fans as a player and going to see the other Philippines athletes compete. When I’m enjoying myself, that’s when I play my best.”

Pagdanganan has three more years of professional polish on a game that was good enough to help Arizona win the team portion of the 2018 NCAA Championship and qualify for Tokyo after just a year as a professional. Pagdanganan ranks fourth in driving distance on the LPGA Tour with an average of 274 yards and had her best year in 2023, finishing second once and making eight cuts in 11 events.

“I’ve grown a lot in the last three years,” says Pagdanganan, who tied for 43rd in Tokyo. “I know how to handle myself on the course better, how to handle the highs and lows.”

ALBANE VALENZUELA

AGE 26, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

If the Olympics represents high achievement amid a mix of global cultures, Albane Valenzuela might be the Olympic ideal. Born in New York City to a Mexican father and French mother, Valenzuela grew up in Mexico City before moving to Geneva at age 6. An elite junior player, she was preparing to go to Stanford for her freshman year when she was low amateur at the ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship). That catapulted her into the world ranking and secured her a spot as one of only three amateurs in the field at the 2016 Games in Brazil. There, she befriended fellow incoming Stanford freshman Katie Ledecky (who won four golds and a silver swimming in Rio) and tied for 21st. Now Valenzuela is preparing to represent Switzerland for her third Games. Even after all her amateur and college accolades and coming off her best season as a pro, Valenzuela doesn’t hesitate when asked where the Olympics rank.

“It tops every golf experience I’ve ever had in my life,” Valenzuela says. “I don’t think there’s anything bigger than representing your country and seeing the best athletes in their fields from every single country. The emotions you experience are second to none.”

Paris will be extra special: It’s her mother’s hometown, and Valenzuela counts it as her “second home” and favorite city in the world.

“It’s the only event where we’re standing on a podium,” says Valenzuela, who speaks French, Spanish and German along with English. “If you finish second or third in any other event, does it mean that much? Maybe not because you ‘lost’ something. At the Olympics, it has a different meaning, having a medal.”

ADRIAN MERONK

AGE 31, PNIEWY, POLAND

Sometimes it’s easy to pick out the golfer from a lineup of Olympic athletes, but put Adrian Meronk in his Poland team warmup, and he could just as easily pass as a member of the men’s volleyball team or a high jumper.

The 6-foot-6 Meronk was a multi-sport star growing up outside Poznan, focusing only on golf as a teenager because he gravitated toward its solo responsibility. It suits him: Meronk won five times in college at East Tennessee State and again on the European Challenge Tour in 2019. Getting promoted to the DP World Tour coincided with qualifying for Tokyo as Poland’s first-ever Olympic golfer. The solidarity Meronk felt with the rest of the Polish delegation contrasted with the experience he had leading up to the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone.

Despite winning twice in 2023—including the Italian Open at the host course—Meronk was passed over for a captain’s selection on the European team. The bitterness of being left out was one of the reasons Meronk left for LIV earlier this year. Now he’s beyond excited to get another opportunity to play under a flag.

“I love the Olympic Games. I’ve watched every single one in my life,” says Meronk, who was named DP World Tour Player of the Year in 2023. “To be able to represent Poland in Tokyo, seeing all these athletes, staying in the Village, it was a dream come true. I think the Olympics are a big, big part of me.”

MORE: A look at the history of golf in the Olympics