Jon Rahm wants Olympic chiefs to make key change after LIV Golf stars snubbed

Bryson DeChambeau is among several LIV Golf stars who failed to qualify for the men’s Olympic golf tournament, which begins Thursday at Le Golf National. Jon Rahm has called for a revision of the Olympic qualifying criteria after many of his LIV Golf colleagues, including DeChambeau, were excluded from this year’s event.

Rahm, 29, will represent Spain in Paris, joined by fellow LIV Golf player David Puig. However, many of their peers on the breakaway tour will miss the tournament. DeChambeau, the current US Open champion, is the most notable absentee. The US team consists of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa, all of whom finished in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) during the qualifying period.

The OWGR is the primary qualification route for the Olympics, but LIV Golf is not recognized by the ranking body, and its players do not earn points on the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit. Consequently, LIV members such as DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Brooks Koepka have seen their rankings decline since the league’s inception in 2022, leading to their exclusion from the Paris games.

Rahm suggests that the power to select players should be given to the competing nations instead of relying on the OWGR. He also proposed the inclusion of team golf in future Olympics.

“Allow the countries to pick themselves,” Rahm stated in his pre-tournament press conference. “There need to be some guidelines, but Team USA basketball has the freedom to choose whoever they want. I understand it’s a different circumstance, but I think each country should choose who they want to play. In the future, I would also like to see some team aspect in the Olympics.”

Rahm, who is confident after winning his first LIV Golf title last weekend at JCB Golf and Country Club in Staffordshire, England, hopes to compete for the gold medal. However, he believes the event’s quality is compromised by the current qualifying process.

“You want the best players to participate,” Rahm added. “Any tournament should have the best players representing their country. The qualifying criteria might need to change, but that is a task for those more knowledgeable about such matters.”