Olympic golf bronze medals are rewarded with more money than gold medals

Men’s individual golf closed the curtain on August 1, CT Pan won the bronze medal, and Schauffele took the gold. Under the rules set forth by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Olympics do not award cash prizes to athletes, but both have their share of the national governing body.

Therefore, Pan will receive 179,000 USD according to Taiwanese regulations for Tokyo 2020 medalists, while Schauffele will receive 37,500 USD in the US. The reward for Pan is even more terrible – 716,000 USD, if he wins the gold medal.

Schauffele’s teammate, Collin Morikawa, lost to Pan on the fourth extra hole in a co-start HC playoff with five other players. If he wins, Morikawa receives $15,000.

Follow Forbes.com, Pan’s hometown ranked second in terms of prize money for this Olympic medalist, while Singapore was the most generous, with $738,000 for the gold medal.

This PGA Tour season, Schauffele’s prize money has just surpassed the $5 million mark, while Pan’s is nearly $1.2 million. After golfing Tokyo 2020, Schauffele likened Pan to a countryman, because his mother – Ping Yi is also of Taiwanese origin. In addition to “Asian hybrid elements”, Schauffele also has German-French blood.

The last match at East Kasumigaseki, par71 two days ago was a surprise for Pan. Before the Olympics, Pan was eliminated during three PGA Tour events. In the medal search, he was near the bottom of the table with 74 strokes in the first round, he went through the next two stages with 66 strokes.

On the last day, Pan brilliantly scored six birdies, one eagle and no bogey in the 63-stroke scoreboard, hitting the ceiling of the 18-hole record set by Matt Kuchar in Rio 2016. But then, Rory Sabbatini (Slovakia) set a new round record. Olympic with 61 strokes and received a silver medal. In the closing round, Pan and Sabbatini fought with the same group. Both have assigned their wives to be caddy from the beginning of the tournament.

“This was a big surprise for me. Finished the first match with a score of +3, I said ‘it was hard work’ when I shared the match situation via text message with a friend. But in the end, I got a bronze medal. What a result. The department has a landmark ending,” Pan told the media after the award ceremony.

Quoc Huy