Last week for players to earn spots on men’s Olympic teams
SAN DIEGO – There’s more at stake this week than just a U.S. Open trophy.
This is the final week for players to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin in late July. The top 60 players as determined by the Olympic Golf Rankings (which are reflective of the Official World Golf Ranking) are eligible to play at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan.
Each country can have up to four players per squad, provided they are within the top 15 of the ranking. Otherwise, a country will have a maximum of two players.
The qualifying deadline is June 21, the day after the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
Here’s a look at the most hotly contested races:
UNITED STATES
Justin Thomas is the only current lock on the U.S. team. As of now, Collin Morikawa (4), Bryson DeChambeau (5) and Xander Schauffele (6) would round out the rest of the American side. Though we’re still awaiting the world-ranking projection for the U.S. Open, there should be plenty of volatility, with Patrick Cantlay (7), Patrick Reed (8), Brooks Koepka (10), Webb Simpson (12) and Tony Finau (14) among those who could make the team with a strong performance at Torrey Pines. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson previously said he would not compete in the Olympics.
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GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
Tyrrell Hatton, at No. 9 in the rankings, appears safe on the GB&I side, but the rest of the group is undecided. Paul Casey (19) is currently in line to make the team, but only one ranking spot behind is Matt Fitzpatrick (20). Tommy Fleetwood (33) and Justin Rose (42) need huge weeks at Torrey. Lee Westwood has already announced that he was removing himself from consideration.
AUSTRALIA
Cameron Smith (28) appears in good shape to be in Tokyo, but Marc Leishman (45) will be trying to hold off Matt Jones (60) for the other team spot. Adam Scott will once again skip the Games while Jason Day, at No. 69, did not qualify for the U.S. Open and won’t be able to improve his standing.
SOUTH AFRICA
Louis Oosthuizen has locked up his spot, but Garrick Higgo’s breakout year has shaken up the rest of the squad. With his victory at the Palmetto Championship, the 21-year-old is now 39th in the rankings, leapfrogging Christiaan Bezuidenhout (46). Branden Grace (71) is also on the outside looking in.
As of June 14, here is what the Olympic field would look like, barring any further withdrawals:
Justin Thomas
Jon Rahm
Collin Morikawa
Bryson DeChambeau
Xander Schauffele
Tyrrell Hatton
Rory McIlroy
Viktor Hovland
Hideki Matsuyama
Louis Oosthuizen
Paul Casey
Abraham Ancer
Sungjae Im
Cameron Smith
Joaquin Niemann
Victor Perez
Corey Conners
Garrick Higgo
Shane Lowry
Marc Leishman
Si Woo Kim
Sergio Garcia
Carlos Ortiz
Sebastian Munoz
Mackenzie Hughes
Emiliano Grillo
Antoine Rozner
Rikuya Hoshino
Thomas Detry
Alex Noren
Guido Migliozzi
Martin Kaymer
Thomas Pieters
Rasmus Hojgaard
Sami Valimaki
Matthias Schwab
Kalle Samooja
Jazz Janewattananond
Henrik Norlander
Jhonattan Vegas
Mito Pereira
Joachim B Hansen
Rory Sabbatini
Sepp Straka
Francesco Molinari
Ryan Fox
Joost Luiten
C.T. Pan
Adrian Meronk
Maximilian Kieffer
Juvic Pagunsan
Wil Besseling
Ondrej Lieser
Scott Vincent
Gunn Charoenkul
Fabrizio Zanotti
Gavin Green
Carl Yuan
Rafael Campos
Kristian K Johannessen