First reported by Spanish outlet, ElPeriodiGolf, it has been claimed that a number of big names have requested to not participate in the 2024 Olympic Games, which gets underway on the 26th July.
Amongst the names are five-time Major winner, Brooks Koepka, European Ryder Cup hero, Tyrrell Hatton, and former Masters winner, Adam Scott, with a number of LIV golfers also part of the contingent to reportedly pull out.
As of writing, the LIV Golf League, which Koepka and Hatton are part of, doesn’t have World Ranking points and, because qualification into the Olympics works off the OWGR, it means that Koepka would likely miss out anyway, but Hatton could have featured with good performances in the Majors.
The way that qualification works is that the top 15 players on the OWGR are eligible for the Olympic Games, with up to a maximum of four golfers from a single country. After the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) consist of up to the top two eligible players per country, as long as that country does not already have at least two players in the top 15.
Sitting outside the top 30 in the OWGR, Koepka would miss out due to multiple Americans sitting above him in the standings, but Hatton, who is 16th in the world as of writing, could overtake Matt Fitzpatrick (9th) or Tommy Fleetwood (10th) for a place in in Team GB if he achieves high placing performances in the Major championships.
Fleetwood and Paul Casey represented Team GB at the Olympics in 2020
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Along with the LIV duo, Scott has also withdrawn, with the Australian previously not featuring at the Olympics in 2016 and 2021. Previously, Scott has called for amateurs to be in the field and has called it an “exhibition”.
Amongst the other names who have requested to be dropped are Germany’s Marcel Siem and LIV Golf’s Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) and Thomas Pieters (Belgium). According to the report, the IGF does not plan on releasing which players have opted out.
One player who has secured a place in the Olympics is World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, with the American guaranteeing his spot at the upcoming Olympics in Paris following his win at the Players Championship.
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