Olympics 2024: Scottie Scheffler leads rankings with 100 days to go

For under the third time inside the final century, the Summer time Olympics will function a 72-hole stroke play for a few of the finest males’s and ladies’s gamers on the earth.

Xander Schauffele received the Gold Medal on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, contested in 2021 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. Rory Sabbatini received the Silver, whereas Taipei’s C.T. Pan got here in third, profitable the Bronze. In Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Englishman Justin Rose received the Gold, Henrik Stenson took house the Silver, and Matt Kuchar received the Bronze.

This yr’s Olympic Golf Competitors will happen at Le Golf Nationwide, outdoors of Paris, the place the Europeans trounced the Individuals within the 2018 Ryder Cup.

The boys’s event will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 1, precisely 100 days from this writing. As such, we wish to spotlight the qualification course of, present up to date standings, and different important tidbits associated to Olympic Golf.

Olympic Golf Qualification

Solely 60 gamers will tee it up in each the boys’s and ladies’s Olympic Golf Competitors, creating an aura not dissimilar to the Signature Occasions seen on the PGA Tour. Of these 60 gamers, 59 acquire entry by way of the Olympic Golf Rankings, which depends on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

Every event has a power of subject score for the Olympic Golf Rankings primarily based on the standard of gamers inside the subject, just like the OWGR. That determines the variety of factors awarded at an occasion, that are then allotted to the gamers primarily based on the place they end. Higher performances in stronger occasions result in extra factors.

The host nation at all times contains one participant within the subject, too, so this yr, Matthieu Pavon will presumably characterize France beneath that distinction.

A rustic can have as many as 4 gamers compete within the Olympics, so long as every of these 4 gamers falls inside the high 15 of the Olympic Golf Rankings. Presently, this stipulation solely applies to the USA.

Outdoors of the highest 15, solely two gamers per nation can compete.

The Worldwide Golf Federation will finalize the sector for the 2024 males’s Olympic Golf Competitors on Monday, Jun. 17, the day after the U.S. Open concludes at Pinehurst No. 2.

Present Olympic Golf Rating Standings

Official World Golf Rating (OWGR) listed in parentheses:

1. Scottie Scheffler — USA (1)

2. Rory McIlroy — Eire (2)

3. Xander Schauffele — USA (3)

4. Jon Rahm — Spain (4)

5. Wyndham Clark — USA (5)

6. Viktor Hovland — Norway (6)

7. Ludvig Åberg — Sweden (7)

8. Patrick Cantlay — USA (8)

9. Tommy Fleetwood — Nice Britain (11)

10. Matt Fitzpatrick — Nice Britain (12)

11. Hideki Matsuyama — Japan (15)

12. Jason Day — Australia (21)

13. Matthieu Pavon — France (22)

14. Tom Kim — South Korea (23)

15. Nick Taylor — Canada (27)

For the USA, Max Homa (9), Brian Harman (10), Collin Morikawa (13), Cameron Younger (14), and Sahith Theegala (15) can probably slide previous Patrick Cantlay (8) and seize the fourth and remaining spot among the many Individuals. The competitors amongst these gamers will stay fierce by means of the foremost championship season.

Picture by Ben Jared/PGA Tour by way of Getty Photographs

Past the highest 15, solely two gamers per nation can compete.

16. Sepp Straka — Austria (28)

17. Min Woo Lee — Australia (32)

18. Nicolai Højgaard — Denmark (34)

19. Shane Lowry — Eire (37)

20. Byeong Hun An — South Korea (38)

21. Emiliano Grillo — Argentina (41)

22. Stephan Jaeger — Germany (43)

23. Adam Hadwin — Canada (49)

24. Ryan Fox — New Zealand (56)

25. Christiaan Bezuidenhout — South Africa (58)

26. Adrian Meronk — Poland (62)

27. Erik van Rooyen — South Africa (64)

28. Alex Noren — Sweden (67)

29. Thomas Detry — Belgium (68)

30. Thorbjørn Olesen — Denmark (72)

31. Keita Nakajima — Japan (75)

32. Joaquin Niemann — Chile (82)

Picture by Warren Little/Getty Photographs

33. Sami Valimaki — Finland (86)

34. Victor Perez — France (93)

35. Alejandro Tosti — Argentina (98)

36. David Puig — Spain (108)

37. Kevin Yu — Taipei (112)

38. Yannik Paul — Germany (123)

39. Carl Yuan — China (131)

40. C.T. Pan — Taipei (132)

41. Joost Luiten — Netherlands (135)

42. Camilo Villegas — Colombia (150)

43. Daniel Hillier — New Zealand (170)

44. Matteo Manassero — Italy (173)

45. Mito Pereira — Chile (181)

46. Shubhankar Sharma — India (190)

47. Adrien Dumont de Chassart — Belgium (196)

48. Gavin Inexperienced — Malaysia (203)

49. Darius Van Driel — Netherlands (215)

50. Carlos Ortiz — Mexico (216)

Picture by Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf by way of Getty Photographs

51. Abraham Ancer — Mexico (219)

52. Gagenjeet Bhullar — India (230)

53. Kiradech Aphibarnrat — Thailand (254)

54. Guido Migliozzi — Italy (255)

55. Phachara Khongwatmai — Thailand (268)

56. Fabrizio Zanotti — Paraguay (274)

57. Rafael Campos — Paraguay (289)

58. Zecheng Dou — China (304)

59. Nico Echavarria — Colombia (211)

60. Kalle Samooja — Finland (355)

Like the USA, just a few different international locations can have fairly the competitors on their arms:

Australia

Since Cameron Smith joined LIV Golf after the 2022 Tour Championship, his OWGR rating has plummeted. He’s 52nd within the OWGR, 20 spots under Min Woo Lee. However Smith has received a serious championship earlier than and positively has the expertise to win one other at Valhalla and Pinehurst No. 2. Ought to he go on to take action—or on the very least contend—he could have to start out making ready for Paris.

Canada

Loads of nationwide satisfaction exists among the many Canadian contingency this yr, particularly since Royal Montreal will host the Presidents Cup in September. However earlier than that, Canada will ship two gamers to the Olympics. Adam Hadwin (49) at present holds a slim lead over Corey Conners (50) within the OWGR, however Mackzenie Hughes (66) and Adam Svensson lurk not too far behind.

Picture by Pedro Salado/Getty Photographs

Denmark

At this week’s Zurich Traditional of New Orleans, the younger, dynamic duo of Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard will attempt to conquer the PGA Tour’s solely group occasion. However we aren’t far-off from seeing this set of twins tee it up in Paris. Rasmus (83) sits 11 spots behind Thorbjørrn Olesen, however a sizzling stretch for Højgaard—or a win in Louisiana—may change Olesen’s Olympic prospects.

Germany

Yannik Paul has had a stable few years on the DP World Tour and sits two spots above Matti Schmid (125) within the OWGR. Because of his win on the Texas Kids’s Houston Open, Stephan Jaeger has all however secured considered one of Germany’s two spots, however the different one will come all the way down to both Paul or Schmid. It’s a toss-up.

Italy

Together with his victory on the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa in March, Matteo Manassero (173) has all however locked up one spot for the Italian contingency. Nevertheless, the opposite spot, just like the case with Germany, is up for grabs between Guido Migliozzi (255) and Francesco Molinari (263), the latter having received the 2018 Open Championship.

Spain

Jon Rahm will characterize Spain in Paris, however the different spot stays a thriller. David Puig (108) at present possesses the second spot, however Pablo Larrazabal (119), Jorge Campillo (121), and Adrian Otaegui (140) should not too far behind. Puig performs on LIV Golf, whereas the opposite three compete on the DP World Tour, the place extra alternatives to earn OWGR factors current themselves. As such, it could shock no person if considered one of these three Spaniards jumped over Puig down the stretch.

South Korea

Byeong Hun An, who lately tied for sixteenth at The Masters, sits seven spots above Sungjae Im (45) within the OWGR. Si Woo Kim (48) is true there, too, so the South Koreans have fairly the battle on their arms down the stretch. Ought to Im or Kim play effectively within the majors, or on the Wells Fargo Championship or the Memorial—the ultimate two Signature Occasions earlier than the Olympic Golf deadline—they may surpass An within the standings and be part of Tom Kim in representing South Korea in Paris.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Make sure you try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.