Scheffler, who qualified for the Olympics, will enter Thursday's opening round at Le Golf National, the 2018 Ryder Cup venue, as a strong contender. "It's not very often you get to compete in the Olympics, so to be able to have a medal for the rest of your life would be very special," the 28-year-old said on Monday.

While acknowledging that a gold medal would be incredibly meaningful, Scheffler emphasised, "If I don't, my life is certainly not going to end, but it would be extremely special to have a gold medal, and it's definitely one of the reasons why I'm here this week."

He added, "I loved going to watch table tennis yesterday, but that's not why I showed up. I try to place an equal amount of value on all the tournaments I play."

Golf's return to the Olympics in 2016 saw several top players withdraw due to concerns about the Zika virus, and Rory McIlroy initially expressed doubts about the sport’s inclusion. However, McIlroy is now competing in France alongside Scheffler.

"I think there's always been weird situations surrounding the Olympics, Zika virus in the first one, Covid in the last. This year should be more normal," Scheffler noted.

Scheffler, who was detained in May, joins a strong US team that includes reigning champion Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa. Schauffele, who recently won the PGA Championship and British Open, is seen as a major competitor for gold. 

"I love seeing people like him (Schauffele) have success because he does it the right way, he works hard," Scheffler said. "He’s not full of himself. We were playing a practice round today and I was actually thinking about it like, 'Man, Xander is the exact same today after winning tournaments as he was if he had lost the tournament by one.'"