[PHOTO: Yoshi Iwamoto]
Ally Ewing was in the clubhouse on Sunday at Sahalee Country Club in position to make the Olympics. She was tied for second place in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at three-under-par, needing to finish alone in fifth place or better to play her way into the competition in Paris this August.
During the next 90 minutes, Lilia Vu, Jin Young Ko and Miyu Yamashita each birdied the 18th hole to get to four-under, pushing Ewing into a tie for fifth place. The trio of birdies left Ewing just a single spot out of qualifying for the Olympics. When the updated rankings were released she was 16th in the world, just 0.1192 points out of the 15th place position she needed to be in to qualify.
The field was finalised overnight, Australian time, after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship using the Olympic Golf Rankings, which utilises the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings. Countries are allowed to have up to two representatives unless they have more than two in the top 15 in the rankings. Nations can send four players if they’re all in the top 15.
.@hannahgreengolf and @minjeegolf have qualified to represent the @AUSOlympicTeam at #Paris2024 🤩🇦🇺
Following the criteria set for all teams by the International Golf Federation, the Australian golf team will be officially announced in the coming week.#AllezAUS pic.twitter.com/uH2RUAUQZV
— Golf Australia ⛳️ (@GolfAust) June 25, 2024
For the first time since golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016, no country will send four female players. The US and South Korea, however, will each field three with Nelly Korda, Vu and Rose Zhang qualifying for the Americans. Hannah Green and Minjee Lee will represent Australia, confirming what has been the obvious duo for several months. Meanwhile, Amy Yang’s resounding Women’s PGA victory earned her a place in the field for South Korea as she jumped from 25th to No.5 in the world with her first career major. She’ll join Jin Young Ko and Hyo Joo Kim.
Yamashita, who primarily plays on the JLPGA Tour, was the other player to earn her way into the field. Her T-2 at the Women’s PGA moved her to world No.19, passing Ayaka Furue (No.20) and Nasa Hataoka (No.24) for the final spot for Japan.
The women’s competition is August 7-10, three days after the men’s contest finishes at Le Golf National, which hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup. Celine Boutier and Perrine Delacour will represent France, playing in their home country.
Korda won the gold medal in 2021, Japan’s Mone Inami won silver and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko earned the bronze medal. Inami did not qualify this year, but Ko will again represent New Zealand.
Here’s your list of 60 competitors (Rolex Rankings on June 24 in parenthesis):
Australia: Hannah Green (7), Minjee Lee (11)
Austria: Emma Spitz (178)
Belgium: Manon De Roey (154)
Canada: Brooke Henderson (14), Alena Sharp (292)
Chinese Taipei: Peiyun Chien (88), Wei-Ling Hsu (161)
Columbia: Mariajo Uribe (198)
Czech Republic: Klara Davidson Spilkova (192), Sara Kouskova (290)
Denmark: Emily Kristine Pedersen (87), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (106)
Finland: Ursala Wikstrom (286), Noora Komulainen (301)
France: Celine Boutier (6), Perrine Delacour (75)
Germany: Esther Henseleit (64), Alexandra Forsterling (69)
Great Britain: Charley Hull (8), Georgia Hall (36)
Ireland: Leona Maguire (32), Stephanie Meadow (134)
Italy: Alessandra Fanali (211)
Japan: Yuka Saso (10), Miyu Yamashita (19)
Malaysia: Ashley Lau (279)
Mexico: Gaby Lopez (62), Maria Fassi (186)
New Zealand: Lydia Ko (17), Momoka Kobori (293)
Norway: Celine Borge (187), Madelene Stavnar (307)
Philippines: Bianca Pagdanganan (113), Dottie Ardina (298)
Scotland: Gemma Dryburgh (79)
Singapore: Shannon Tan (181)
Slovenia: Ana Belac (288)
Spain: Carlota Ciganda (30), Azahara Munoz (109)
South Africa: Ashleigh Buhai (41), Paula Reto (196)
South Korea: Jin Young Ko (3), Amy Yang (5), Hyo Joo Kim (13)
Switzerland: Albane Valenzuela (70), Morgane Metraux (127)
Thailand: Atthaya Thitikul (12), Patty Tavatanakit (25)
United States: Nelly Korda (1), Lilia Vu (2), Rose Zhang (9)
