Qualifying for various countries’ Olympics mens’ golf teams wrapped up Sunday with the conclusion of the U.S. Open, but the final quota places will not be announced by the International Golf Federation until Tuesday.
Based on how selections are made according to the Official World Golf Ranking, it’s clear which four Americans are eligible and have not declined to compete. As it stands unofficially, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau are on the team.
The Olympics run July 21-August 8 in Tokyo. The men’s golf competition is July 29-August 1 at Kasumigaseki Country Club. The women’s competition is August 4-7 at the same club.
Collin Morikawa hits his tee shot during the first day of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
The IGF notes that the Olympic field is restricted to the top 60 men in the OWGR. The top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.
That means four Americans can compete, because there are at least four inside the top 15 in the OWGR.
It also means only four U.S. players can compete, despite several others ranked inside the top 15 in the world. Patrick Cantlay, for example, ranks No. 7 in the OWGR but is the fifth-ranked American on that list, meaning he didn’t qualify among the top four. The same is true for Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau. Each of them will be placed on the Reallocation Reserve List, meaning they are the alternates should any of the top four back out for any reason.
Dustin Johnson would have qualified for the U.S. team as No. 2 in the world, the position he dropped into as Jon Rahm moved to No. 1 with his U.S. Open triumph, but Johnson in March declined to compete in the Olympics.
The women’s qualifying period ends June 28. The various National Olympic Committees then will confirm use of all allocated quota spots for men and women July 1. Entries to the Games close July 5, and quota spots can be reallocated for several more weeks based on players possibly withdrawing.
Meanwhile, the three male medalists from the 2016 Olympics failed to qualify for this year’s Games. Great Britain’s Justin Rose, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and American Matt Kuchar each were too far back in the OWGR standings to make their teams this time around.
