This summer’s Olympic golf competition in Paris will not feature major champions Brooks Koepka and Adam Scott, among other stars who have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2024 Games.
According to a report by ElPeriodiGolf, these players have decided to decline Olympic consideration. Koepka, the winner of last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill, has now fallen to No. 31 in the world rankings. This would necessitate him to win another major this year to have a chance of representing the U.S. Olympic team.
Similarly, Adam Scott, who did not compete in the last two Olympics, has made the decision to opt out of Paris Olympic consideration. Scott expressed his doubts about the necessity of golf being a part of the Olympics when debating whether to play in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In addition to Koepka and Scott, Tyrell Hatton, Louis Oosthuizen, and Thomas Pieters also withdrew themselves from qualifying for their respective national teams. The selection process for the Olympics takes 60 golfers based on the Official World Golf Rankings, allowing each country to name up to four players, provided they are ranked in the top 15 in the world.
Aside from Scott, the only other Australian to opt-out is Min Woo Lee, whose ranking puts him ahead of Scott. For the U.S. team, it currently consists of Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay. Faced with strong headwinds for qualifying, these major winners and other golfers have decided to focus on other professional events.
It is not surprising that golfers are opting out of Olympic consideration, especially when the multiple tours available do not award points towards the Olympic ranking system. The cutoff date for men’s Olympic qualification is June 17 and will run Aug. 1-4, while the women’s competition follows on Aug. 7-10 at the Albatros course at Le Golf National, the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Overall, it is evident that the selection process for the Olympics has resulted in golfers like Koepka and Scott deciding to focus on other professional events rather than risking the difficulties of Olympic qualification. The withdrawal of such major stars is undoubtedly a blow to golf fans eagerly anticipating the Paris Olympics.