Norwegian Kristoffer Ventura was initially reluctant to be an Olympian
In Ventura's quest for his Tour Card, the Olympian almost decided to stay home
While thousands of athletes packed boats and paraded along the Seine River for the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony to a warm reception from spectators, Norwegian Olympian golfer Kristoffer Ventura was at a quieter venue: The Glen Club in Glenview, Illinois.
Ventura competed at the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational, where he finished tied 16th. Almost immediately after finishing play on Sunday, he got on a flight to Paris.
And yet, the presence of the Olympian didn’t seem to draw crowds. Silje Wiberg, Ventura’s fiance, was the only spectator who followed Ventura’s group, which teed off at 6:30 a.m. local time in the first round.
Wiberg said even when Ventura discovered in June that he qualified for the Olympics, he wasn’t immediately sure if he wanted to play.
“He took some time to decide if he was going to do the Olympics,” Wiberg said. “(To decide) if he could afford skipping a tournament.”
Ventura currently sits in the top 20 of the Korn Ferry Tour points list. If he’s top 30 by the end of the season in October, he automatically gets PGA Tour membership, where opportunities to make money are greater, for next season. If he doesn’t make top 30, his path to the PGA Tour is not guaranteed.
“This is his job,” Wiberg said. “Doing well in the Olympics isn’t going to secure him a job next year.”
Ventura knows all about the fight for a job on the PGA Tour. After he left Oklahoma State following his junior year to join the Korn Ferry Tour, he got his PGA Tour card for the 2019-2020 season by finishing 4th in points. However, 28 missed cuts in 45 starts meant Ventura was sent back to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022.
“This year he will always prioritize the Korn Ferry,” Wiberg said. “The most important thing for him is to get to the PGA
Even though Ventura was at first unsure if he wanted to go to Paris, he decided he couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
“It’s an experience you don’t get to be a part of very often,” said Ventura, who will compete in his first Olympic Games.
He also thinks playing in the Olympics could be advantageous to his pursuit of PGA Tour status. The NV5 Invitational is his third week playing competitive golf in a row, and he says he will play many more after the Olympics end.
“I might as well play the Olympics and that’ll be my week off,” Ventura said.
Ventura says he’s also looking forward to playing in front of his family, who live in Norway and don’t often make the trip across the Atlantic to see him play.
When he competes in the Games, Ventura will be joining up with former Oklahoma State teammates Wyndham Clark (USA) and compatriot Viktor Hovland, with whom he’ll be staying in Paris.
Oklahoma State golf coach Alan Bratton says he’s glad Ventura decided to join his teammate and good friend Hovland in Paris.
“Hopefully they can feed off of each other,” Bratton said. “They both as college players were unique in their want to represent their country and be shining lights for future players from Norway.”
When golf at the Paris Olympics begins on August 1, Ventura will compete against some of the best golfers in the world. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are just two of the names in the mix. The No. 1 and No. 2 golfers in the world by Official World Golf Ranking account for three of the four major championships this season.
By comparison, Ventura is 266th in the world and has never competed in a major championship. Yet, Ventura says his goal is clear.
“Get a medal,” Ventura said. “There’s no difference finishing 10th and 30th, so I’m going for that top three.”