Scottie Scheffler in Jon Rahm disagreement over Olympic golf selection process

Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm at Odds Over Olympic Golf Selection Process

The qualification process for the men’s Olympic golf event, which relies on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), has come under fire from LIV Golf star Jon Rahm. Despite this criticism, Scottie Scheffler supports the current system.

Scheffler, one of four American players at this week’s event at Le Golf National, is joined by Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark. All four are ranked within the top 10 globally, allowing Team USA to field four competitors. This marks them as the only team with this privilege, given their high OWGR standings.

Critics, including many from the LIV Golf community, argue that using the OWGR is unfair. LIV events do not contribute points to the rankings, causing prominent players like Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Brooks Koepka to miss out. Despite these criticisms, Scheffler maintains that the OWGR is a fair selection method. “I think it’s nice having a pretty standard rating system for how you can choose the team,” he said after Thursday’s opening round.

Scheffler expressed his preference for a transparent qualification system over a selection committee. He remarked, “I think it gets a little bit objective when you have a selection committee choosing teams. Most of our team events, you have guys that can qualify automatically and there are some that are chosen. We had tournaments in amateur golf where the whole team was chosen at times. I’m a fan of having a standard system where you know where you stand in terms of getting in like it is now.”

He acknowledged the difficulty of making the American team: “It’s so challenging being in the United States getting on the team. You get four guys because we are all Top 15 in the world and it’s still by far the hardest team to make.”

Scheffler also reflected on the impact of having all top players compete: “If we can bring all of our best players, the field for this tournament would look a lot different and I’m sure we would have a better chance of taking home more medals but it’s hard to choose the best four every year.”

Conversely, Rahm, representing Spain alongside David Puig, advocates for greater flexibility in team selection. “Allow the countries to pick themselves,” Rahm said, highlighting the autonomy other sports enjoy: “There needs to be some guidelines, but Team USA basketball has freedom to choose whoever they want.” He stressed the importance of letting each country select their players: “I understand it’s a different circumstance, but I think you need to let each country choose who they want to play.”

As the debate continues, Rahm and Scheffler found themselves tied for sixth after Thursday’s round in Paris, both shooting a four-under-par 67.

The differing opinions on the Olympic golf selection process reflect broader tensions within the sport, particularly in light of LIV Golf’s challenges to the traditional ranking system.