A guide to golf at Rio Olympics

It is finally here. After 112 years of waiting, golf has finally made its much anticipated return to the Olympics.

Between the 5th and the 21st this month, players from all over the world will compete to win bronze, silver and gold medals and represent their country. The men’s game will begin on the 11th and run until the 14th, and the women’s event will run from the 17th till the 20th August.

The Olympics feature both male and female events, with players competing in the 72­ hole individual stroke play tournament across four consecutive days. The rules will be in ­keeping with the official rules of golf. Competitors will be fighting to win medals for the first three positions, with a three­hole playoff to be held in the event of a tie. This varies from when golf was last held at the Olympics, where scoring was based on the number of holes won, rather than a cumulative tally of strokes taken.

Some of the top players in the women’s genre heading to this year's Games include: Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Lexi Thompson (United States), Gerina Piller (United States), Catriona Matthew (Great Britain), Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), Inbee Park (South Korea) and Sei Young Kim (South Korea).

Though a number of golfers dropped out of the event, allegedly due to fears of the zika outbreak in the country and busy events schedules, the loss is more largely apparent in the male game, with only one golfer dropping out of the women's competition.

The event looks to be hotly contested with a great mix of some of the world's best players competing to take home the gold. Charley Hull and Catriona Matthew will be representing Great Britain in the women's golf event and Danny Willett and Justin Rose will be competing in the male event.

It will be exciting to see how golf's return is received, but being able to see such high class players competing should make for riveting entertainment.

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