PARIS — It’s officially Olympics season in pro golf, but before any shots are struck at Le Golf National, there are more formal celebrations to get to. Like the Opening Ceremony, scheduled for Friday night in Paris.
It’s unclear how many golfers will walk — or float, rather — during the celebration held on the Seine River, which snakes through Paris. But we do know for sure that three golfers will hold the high honor of flag-bearer for their home countries.
Shane Lowry will be the most recognizable face for golf fans Friday as he hoists the flag on behalf of Ireland. Lowry announced it Friday afternoon on social media, declaring it a “huge honour for me and my family.” Lowry competed in the Tokyo Olympics, ultimately tying for 22nd and leaving the week disappointed. This year, he has the chance to bounce back, both from the last Games and last week’s Open Championship, where he held the 36-hole lead.
Fabrizio Zanotti, the 342nd-ranked player in the world, will serve as the male flag-bearer for Paraguay, and will likely do a better job of it than most every other athlete in France … because he was also the flag-bearer for Paraguay at the previous Olympic Games, in Tokyo.
Joining Lowry and Zanotti is Moroccan women’s golfer Ines Laklalech, the 298th-ranked player in the world. Laklalech is one of the lowest-ranked players in the field, but is an Olympian nonetheless and one of just 42 athletes competing from Morocco. Considering the women’s golf competition doesn’t begin until the men’s comp is finished, Laklalech has arrived in Paris plenty early, already sporting the Moroccan red and forest green colors from the Olympic Village.
Keen golf fans will recall Gaby Lopez was a flag-bearer for Mexico at the 2020 Olympics, held in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. With that iteration of the Games taking place in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lopez, Zanotti and all the athletes wore masks. Thankfully this time around, we’ll see a lot more of their smiles as they represent their countries. (The flag-bearers for Team USA are basketball player LeBron James and tennis star Coco Gauff.)
It is likely other golfers will take part in the cermony, just not in a flag-bearing role. Unfortunately for the women’s golf competitors, the Opening Ceremony takes place a full 12 days before their competition begins. The men’s competition begins Thursday, Aug. 1.
