Worrying number of Brits reckon they have what it takes to be an Olympic golfer in 2028

A remarkable 5% of the British population believe they could compete in the golf competition at the 2028 Olympics if they started training today.

That’s one of the big takeaways from a YouGov poll, which found that more than a quarter of Britons reckon they have what it takes to qualify for a sport at the Los Angeles Games four years from now.

The results were shared as the curtain fell on the Paris Games, where world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time major champion Lydia Ko claimed the men’s and women’s golf gold medals respectively.

And yet, despite watching two of the best players on planet take gold, one in every 20 Brits surveyed in the poll believes they could qualify for the Team GB golf team in 2028.

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Assuming that number is representative of the entire population, that means there are almost 3.5 million people in the UK who fancy themselves as Olympic golfers.

Those aged between 18 and 24 are particularly confident, with 7% of those respondents claiming they have what it takes to emulate Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Charley Hull and Georgia Hall in LA.

Men, meantime, are more confident in their chances than women, with 6% of respondents backing themselves for a spot on the golf team.

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Remarkably, more people believe they have what it takes to be Olympic golfers (5%) than triathletes (4%), despite the latter requiring you to be good at three different sporting disciplines.

Golf is also rated ‘easier’ to qualify for than water polo, rhythmic gymnastics, diving, and skateboarding.

Spare a thought for the air rifle medalists, however. A whopping 15% of respondents believe that they would definitely/probably qualify for Los Angeles 28 in that sport if they started training today.

Other sports to feature highly include archery (13%), badminton (10%) and table tennis (9%).

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor