Olympic Golf: Top 5 Teams to Watch in the Men’s Competition

Spain: Sergio Garcia, Rafael Cabrera Bello

The Spanish team is armed with a pair of the best ball strikers in the world. Both Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera Bello are on the shortlist of contenders for the gold — they are consistent, well-traveled players who performed well in many of the game’s top events this year.

Garcia is the clear frontrunner out of this duo. The veteran has found the top five in five of his last seven worldwide starts, tying for fifth at both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. He’s well-known for his seeming inability to win a major, but he could silence some of those critics — at least for a little while — by winning Olympic gold.

Cabrera Bello, on the other hand, hasn’t won an event anywhere since the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic, but that hasn’t kept him from thriving on some of the world’s toughest stages. He’s notched five top five finishes this year, including a solo third at the WGC-Dell Match Play and, most recently, a solo fourth at the Open de France. He’s not a household name yet, but he should be.

Next: Sweden