Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, despite being one of the best golfers in the world, will not play for Team USA in Paris.
The Olympic Men’s Golf Competition kicks off at Le Golf National in Paris, the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup matches, in six weeks.
Bryson DeChambeau won’t be there, but Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark will. The Olympic Men’s Golf Committee finalized the field for this 60-man event on Tuesday.
Of those 60 players, 59 gain entry via the Olympic Golf Rankings, which relies on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
Each tournament has a strength of field rating for the Olympic Golf Rankings based on the quality of players within the field, like the OWGR. That determines the points awarded at an event, which are then allocated to the players based on where they finish. Better performances in stronger events lead to more points.
The host country always includes one player in the field, too, so this year, Matthieu Pavon will represent France under that distinction.
A country can have as many as four players compete in the Olympics if each of those four players falls within the top 15 of the Olympic Golf Rankings. For 2024, this stipulation only applies to the United States.
Scheffler, Schauffele, Morikawa, and Clark made it because they currently rank within the top seven of the OWGR.
Meanwhile, DeChambeau joined LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed circuit that does not receive OWGR points for its events, and therefore, the reigning U.S. Open champion will not tee it up in Paris. He did not have a strong 2023 season, dropping to 155th at the end of the calendar year in the OWGR. But since then, DeChambeau tied for sixth at Augusta National, finished solo second to Schauffele at the PGA Championship, and conquered Pinehurst No. 2, elevating his OWGR ranking to 10th.
Yet, he still fell short of earning a spot on the team.
The two-year qualification period for the men’s golf competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has concluded with today’s publication of the final men’s Olympic Golf Rankings.
— Olympic Golf (@OlympicGolf) June 18, 2024
https://t.co/1jJ3oCSpfU#OlympicGolf | @Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/9e58lUH8sY
The individual teams and the participants on each follow below, with their current OWGR ranking in parentheses.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
