The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature some of the best players in the world, including in golf. However, one name left off of this year’s U.S. team is the current U.S. Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau.
Why would the U.S. Olympic Golf Committee leave off one of the best players in the world?
It’s certainly possible that politics played a role. DeChambeau spurned the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. While the two have a tentative merger agreement in place, there’s still a lot of bad blood between them, and the U.S. Olympic Golf Committee could have allegiances to the PGA.
However, the more likely reason is that, despite his recent victory, DeChambeau simply isn’t ranked high enough to qualify.
The four golfers representing America in 2024 will be the current No. 1 ranked golfer in the world Scottie Scheffler, No. 3 in the world Patrick Cantlay, defending gold medalist Xander Schauffele, and 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
It’s hard to argue against the current No. 1 golfer in the world, an Olympic gold medalist and former U.S. Open champ.
Right now, per the Official World Golf Rankings, they are the top four American players.
Of course, this is where you have to consider that while DeChambeau is the fifth American in the OWGR, he only garners points in the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open because the OWGR doesn’t recognize LIV events. If they did, he would likely be among the top four.
“It’s disappointing, but I understand the decisions I made, and the way things have played out has not been necessarily perfectly according to plan,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve done my best up until now to give myself a chance according to the OWGR, but I realize and respect where the current situation of the game is, albeit it’s frustrating and disappointing.”
Phil Mickelson talked about the unfairness of the world rankings a few months ago in an interview and thinks it should changed, but don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.
The OWGR has stood firm in its belief that unless you play regularly on the PGA Tour, you won’t be recognized by them. Is it fair? Perhaps not. However, it’s still hard to argue against the four guys chosen for the U.S. Olympic team.
{Golfweek}
