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Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton are among a list of notable players who have requested to opt out of the 2024 Olympics, Golf Digest has learned. Spanish outlet ElPeriodiGolf was the first to report the news.
This will be the sport’s third appearance in the Summer Games since the contest was revived in 2016 after a 112-year absence from the Olympics. However, a number of marquee names bowed out of the 2016 Brazil Games due to fears of the Zika virus, and though turnout was improved at the COVID-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021), some of the game’s biggest stars still skipped the proceedings. While participation is expected to increase for this year’s contest in Paris, not everyone wants to compete.
Koepka, the reigning PGA champion and five-time major winner, has asked the International Golf Federation to have his name dropped from consideration, according to internal documents at the IGF. Koepka would have faced an uphill battle in qualifying for the United States team; the top four players in the Official World Golf Ranking are automatically selected, and because LIV Golf has not secured OWGR accreditation, Koepka has dropped to 31st in the worldwide ranking. Hatton, who recently defected to LIV Golf, would be in line for an Olympic bid for the English team. However, unless he does well in the major championships, it’s likely his No.16 OWGR standing will drop as the year progresses.
Scott’s withdrawal is not a surprise. The Queenslander has previously stated his apathy towards golf’s inclusion in the Olympics, referring to it as an “exhibition” and that a better idea would be to allow amateurs in the field. He passed on both the 2016 and 2020 games.
Other players that have asked to opt out include LIV Golf’s Louis Oosthuizen and Thomas Pieters. Germany’s Marcel Siem is the only other player that has requested to be dropped from consideration.
Internal documents show that the IGF does not plan on releasing which players have opted out. However, as of writing, no women players have formally requested to opt out.
Qualifying for the 2024 Olympics began in July 2022, with golfers accumulating points in an official Olympics Ranking that essentially mirrors the men’s and women’s world rankings. The first round of the 72-hole men’s Olympic competition gets underway at the Albatros course at Le Golf National (August 1-4), site of the 2018 Ryder Cup. The women’s tournament starts three days after the men’s event ends, August 7-10, before the closing ceremony on August 11. The total fields are 60 players, with at least one spot held for a golfer from the host country (France) if one does not otherwise qualify. No country can have more than four golfers competing, with all golfers ranked in the top 15 qualifying (up to the four golfer maximum for each country). After the top 15 in the ranking, golfers ranked 16th and lower will qualify with no more than two players from any one country eligible to compete.
