Dubai resident Thomas Detry says it’s a dream come true to compete for a medal at the Olympic Games despite not growing up seeking one due to golf’s lack of presence in the competition.
Paris 2024 marks just the fifth time golf has been included in the Games, with the sport only reintroduced to the Olympics in 2016 after 112 years away.
While the game’s four Major Championships – The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open Championship – are still the pinnacle of the sport, Detry revealed it would still be “incredible” to win a medal for Belgium in Paris.
“I've always told people about the Olympics that as a golfer, it’s not really something that I grew up dreaming about, because it wasn’t actually part of the Olympics until 2016,” said Detry, who moved to Dubai in 2021.
“It’s a kind of funny relationship where suddenly in 2016 it’s like, ‘Oh wow, we actually also have a shot at a medal.’ But obviously we all grew up watching the Olympics on TV, so in a way, it’s a dream come true.
“When I was little, I remember watching tennis and hockey and all the other sports and seeing people bring medals back for our country, and it would be incredible to bring a medal back for Belgium.”
Detry will be competing at the Games for the second time after making his debut at Tokyo 2020, where the Belgian finished in a share of 22nd at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
It wasn’t quite the Olympic experience Detry had hoped for given the fact that the Games were played during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were required to wear masks at all times when not competing, socially distance and take standard measures to limit the spread of the virus, while fans were also not able to attend sport’s grandest spectacle.
Paris 2024 is a whole lot different.
“I have a lot of expectations for myself, but I’m also really looking forward to having a full experience this year,” he said.
“I participated in the one in Tokyo, and obviously it was just a nature of the time, but there were a lot of restrictions with COVID-19 and we couldn't really have that full Olympics experience.
“It was painful to travel into Tokyo, and it was painful to travel out of it. We weren't allowed to go and see different sports, and we were just kind of stuck in a hotel room and just going to the golf course back and forth. So, I'm looking forward to having a full experience this year and watching some other sports.”
The backdrop to this golf competition will be a golf course famed for its strategic nature, a clutch of risk-reward holes and water features which come into play across most of the layout.
Le Golf National is a course ready-made to host an Olympic Games event with spectators afforded a view of the action from almost any vantage point due to the nature of the mounds that line fairways and snake around greens.
The course will also be no stranger to Detry and many of his European counterparts competing this week, with Le Golf National playing host to the Open de France every year except two since 1991. It also hosted Europe’s emphatic Ryder Cup victory in 2018.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of Le Golf National, and I think having previous experience is going to be a big benefit,” said Detry, who will be competing in the men’s golf competition alongside Adrien Dumont De Chassart for Belgium.
“Unlike other sports, we’re playing at a venue I would imagine most of the guys in the field have actually played before. For me, like Adrien, I played it a lot as an amateur, then the French Open as an amateur back in I think 2010, and I’ve also played in the French Open many times. It’s not quite like playing at home, but it's as close as it gets.
“When we were younger, we’d come down a few times because it's one of the top courses within 2-3 hours of travel, and we don’t really have that type of course and facilities back in Belgium.
“It’s a great place to practice because the course is demanding. I've done well in the past at the French Open, too, with a couple of top 10s. The rough is thick, and it will be playing as tough as it gets, so I'm very much looking forward to the challenge.”
While the likes of World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, two-time Major winner Xander Schauffele and European Ryder Cup duo Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are the favourites to win a medal in Paris, Detry is surely one of the dark horses for the tournament after enjoying a superb year on course.
The 31-year-old soared to a career-high 48th in the Official World Golf Ranking last month after a string of fine results, including a share of 14th at the U.S. Open and a tied fourth at the PGA Championship. The latter secured a first invite into next year’s Masters Tournament.
Those results have also helped him climb to 32nd in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup standings, with Detry set to appear in the FedExCup Play-Offs for a second successive season.
“I think this year and my recent results in Majors this season have given me a lot more confidence coming into the Olympics, too,” he said.
“I remember a couple of years ago, when I was still a bit of a rookie, a Rolex Series event used to be the big event. They are still massive, but you have a little bit less of that pressure when you come to these types of events now.
“My schedule and my tournaments are kind of evolving around Majors – they are really the ones where I want to peak now – so I think that at other tournaments, that helps you have a little more of a relaxed feeling, a little bit less tension and feel that little bit more comfortable.
“In general, I feel like my career has been kind of on an upward, linear trend, which means that I'm doing something right, and I think trusting my process has been a bit of a catalyst for results this season.
“You know, we choose to believe that if I keep doing what I'm doing now and keep working on the good things with my coach and my team, and bringing that mental aspect of it as well, I think it can only keep going better.”
The men’s golf competition gets underway on August 1, with the women teeing off six days later on August 7.
