Several LIV Golf stars, including Bryson DeChambeau, were unable to make it into the men’s Olympic golf competition, which begins at Le Golf National on Thursday.
After learning that several of his LIV Golf colleagues, including Bryson DeChambeau, were excluded from this year’s competition, Jon Rahm has demanded a revision of the Olympic qualifying standards.
At the tournament’s opening round on Thursday at Le Golf National in Paris, Rahm, 29, will represent Spain. David Puig, a fellow LIV Golf star, will accompany him, but many of their colleagues on the breakaway tour will have to miss it.
The highest-profile player absent from the action in Paris is none other than Justin DeChambeau, the reigning US Open champion. With Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa finishing the qualifying round in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), the United States has sent a team of four players to the Olympics.
Although LIV is not recognized by the organization and its players do not receive ranking points for their performances on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, the OWGR serves as the foundation for the qualification path to the games. Since the breakaway league’s inception in 2022, its members’ rankings have plummeted, leaving DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, and other players without a Paris ticket.
Rahm contends that rather than the OWGR, the competing nations ought to be in charge of selecting their players. In addition, he recommended adding team golf to the Olympic program in the future.
In his pre-tournament press conference, Rahm said, “Allow the countries to pick themselves.” “While there should be some restrictions, Team USA basketball is free to select any player they desire. Although I recognize that every country has a unique set of circumstances, I believe that each nation should be allowed to select its own players. In the future, I would also like to see some team sports at the Olympics.
We are here to represent Spain, so naturally, I would love to represent Spain in any way—whether it be through team sports or joint play. Sharing the stage with another player and trying something new would be really pleasant, as opposed to maybe doing what we do every other day.”
After winning his first LIV Golf title over the weekend at JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire, England, Rahm is full of confidence going into Le Golf National. He defeated Smith, Joaquin Niemann, and Tyrrell Hatton to take the top spot on the leaderboard. He feels the qualifying process detracts from the event’s quality, even though he has great aspirations to compete for the gold medal.
Rahm continued, “You want the best players to be able to participate.” “You want the best players to represent their country in any tournament. All I can say is that. There’s really no other way that I can put it. “It goes without saying that the qualifying requirements may need to change, but that is a task for those with much more experience with such things.”
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