Making a memorable return to the Olympics in 2016 after an 112-year absence, golf will be part of the Summer Games again this July in Tokyo. Both the men’s and women’s Olympic competitions will be 72-hole stroke-play tournaments held at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kasahata, Saitama, Japan, about 50 kilometres northwest of downtown Tokyo. As was the case four years ago in Rio, the field in both events will consist of 60 players representing their respective home countries.
But how will those Olympic fields be determined? Or more to the point for some people, will Tiger Woods be playing for the United States this summer or will Adam Scott finally don the green and gold? The answer is … maybe. It all depends on where Woods ranks in the Olympic Golf Rankings on the final date of qualifying in June – or more specifically where he ranks in relations to the other eligible American golfers – and whether Scott changes his mind on the importance of a gold medal of a Major.
To help understand the Olympic qualification process, we’ve outlined the rules below as well as listed what the field would look like as of the most recently publication of the Olympic Golf Rankings (January 27). We’ll update this list periodically to keep you up to speed on who is in and who is out of the Tokyo Olympics ahead of the actual final deadline for eligibility. (Spoiler: Both Woods and Scott WOULD BE eligible to play if qualifying ended this week!)
So here goes: The same qualification rules apply for both the men’s and women’s Olympics fields. The top 15 players in the Olympic Golf Rankings (which essentially mirror the Official World Golf Ranking for men and the Rolex Rankings for women) will be eligible for the Olympics up to a maximum of four golfers per country. The four-player max is perhaps the biggest hurdle for Woods’ effort to qualify for the Olympics as he has to make sure he’s not only in the top 15 overall in the rankings, but also that he’s one of the top four ranked Americans to secure a spot.
After the top 15, the field will be filled until getting to 60 golfers by going down the Olympic Golf Ranking, with the top two ranked players qualifying from any country that does not have two or more players from the top 15. The host country, Japan, is also guaranteed at least two golfers in the field.
Here then is a country-by-country breakdown of the players that would be in the Olympics if the cut off were this week (men’s qualifying ends on June 22, the day after the US Open; women’s qualifying ends June 29). The men’s competition will be held July 30-August 2; the women’s August 5-8.
MEN (World Ranking in parenthesis)
Argentina
Emiliano Grillo (119)
Fabian Gomez (245)
Australia
Adam Scott (15)
Marc Leishman (20)
Next in line: Cameron Smith (34), Jason Day (44), Lucas Herbert (79)
Austria
Bernd Wiesberger (22)
Matthias Schwab (78)
Next in line: Sepp Straka (170)
Belgium
Thomas Pieters (83)
Thomas Detry (117)
Next in line: Nicolas Colsaerts (183)
Canada
Adam Hadwin (52)
Corey Conners (61)
Next in line: Nick Taylor (236)
Chile
Joaquin Niemann (62)
China
Haotong Li (75)
Xinjun Zhang (138)
Chinese Taipei
C.T. Pan (77)
Colombia
Sebastian Munoz (103)
Denmark
Lucas Bjerregaard (91)
Thorbjorn Olesen (114)
Next in line: Joachim B. Hansen (166)
Finland
Mikko Korhonen (144)
Kalle Samooja (187)
France
Victor Perez (41)
Michael Lorenzo-Vera (64)
Next in line: Benjamin Hebert (93), Romain Langasque (109)
Germany
Martin Kaymer (113)
Sebastian Heisele (202)
Great Britain
Justin Rose (8)
Tommy Fleetwood (10)
Next in line: Paul Casey (19), Matthew Fitzpatrick (25), Lee Westwood (29), Danny Willett (31), Tyrrell Hatton (33)
India
Rashid Khan (176)
Ireland
Rory McIlroy (2)
Shane Lowry (18)
Next in line: Graeme McDowell (104)
Italy
Francesco Molinari (23)
Andrea Pavan (81)
Next in line: Guido Migliozzi (123), Francesco Laporta (124)
Japan
Hideki Matsuyama (24)
Shugo Imahira (36)
Next in line: Ryo Ishikawa (80)
Malaysia
Gavin Kyle Green (197)
Mexico
Abraham Ancer (30)
Carlos Ortiz (150)
Netherlands
Joost Luiten (90)
Darius Van Driel (193)
New Zealand
Danny Lee (97)
Ryan Fox (154)
Norway
Viktor Hovland (94)
Kristoffer Ventura (182)
The Philippines
Miguel Tabuena (232)
Poland
Adrian Meronk (234)
Slovakia
Rory Sabbatini (88)
South Africa
Louis Oosthuizen (14)
Erik van Rooyen (46)
Next in line: Shaun Norris (57), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60), Branden Grace (74), Justin Harding (82)
South Korea
Sungjae Im (35)
Byeong Hun An (49)
Next in line: Sung Kang (85)
Spain
Jon Rahm (3)
Sergio Garcia (42)
Next in line: Rafa Cabrere-Bello (45)
Sweden
Henrik Stenson (27)
Alex Noren (84)
Next in line: Marcus Kinhult (87)
Thailand
Jazz Janewattananond (38)
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (120)
Next in line: Gunn Chareonkul (126)
United States
Brooks Koepka (1)
Justin Thomas (4)
Dustin Johnson (5)
Tiger Woods (6)
Next in line: Patrick Cantlay (7), Xander Schauffele (9), Webb Simpson (11), Patrick Reed (12), Tony Finau (13)
Venezuela
Jhonattan Vegas (156)
Zimbabwe
Scott Vincent (134)
