Who will represent Team USA in golf at Paris 2024 Olympics?
The 2024 Paris Olympics are almost here and with that, we’re taking a look at who’s qualified for the golf competition which will be held at Le Golf National.
While there are a number of high-profile absences, Team USA will feel confident about their chances with some of golf’s best having qualified for the summer games. Here, we take a look at the process and of course who’s made the final cut.
A look at Team USA golf for Paris 2024
Before we get to who’s in, it’s worth noting who’s out. Indeed, having just won the 2024 U.S. Open, the absence of Bryson DeChambeau is probably the biggest eye-opener but also understandable as it’s about rules and regulations. DeChambeau, after all, plays on the LIV Golf circuit which does not award Official World Golf Rankings which is why he didn’t qualify despite some impressive performances at the three majors that we’ve seen so far which include a T6 at the Masters, a 2nd-place finish at the PGA Championship, and his victory at U.S. Open on Sunday. As a result, the 30-year-old now sits at No. 10 on the OWGR, however, there are five Americans who rank above him.
That of course brings us to the Olympic qualifying process itself which to be clear, is a veritable copy of the OWGR. How does it work? Firstly, only the top 15 players in the OWGR are eligible. Regarding nations themselves, each country is permitted four players. Where players outside of the top 15 are concerned, they “will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.” So, who’s representing Team USA? That would be Scottie Scheffler (No. 1 OWGR), Xander Schauffele (No. 3), Wyndham Clark (No. 5), and Collin Morikawa (No. 7).
If you didn’t know, Schauffele is actually the reigning gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will be playing alongside another Olympian in the form of Morikawa who was also present in Japan four years ago. It’s interesting to note that other countries have not had to wait so long to see their teams finalized, with Ireland having wrapped up qualification some time ago. To that extent, we know that Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be in Paris, in addition to Spain’s Jon Rahm and David Puig who secured their spots after making the U.S. Open cut. Other household names to look out for include Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Ludvig Åberg (Sweden), and Viktor Hovland (Norway) who are all set to take the course this summer.