By Joel Beall
Jon Rahm said it’s his dream to be an Olympian. That doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily see the Spaniard at the Summer Games.

Speaking ahead of the AT&T Byron Nelson, the World No. 3 expressed displeasure Wednesday at the rules imposed by the Tokyo Olympic Committee.

“Yeah, I want to play,” Rahm said. “They’re not making it very easy.”

A number of restrictions will be in place for the Tokyo Games due to COVID-19 restrictions, including no international spectators. According to Rahm, athletes won’t be able to attend other sporting events and family access will be limited. Rahm also said Olympic golfers won’t be able to see the course until the day before their event and the course is a “one to two-hour drive” from where the athletes will be staying.

“The Olympic committee is not making it very easy for us to choose it,” Rahm said.

Rahm further described the sport’s packed summer schedule as problematic. “It’s between the British Open and the WGC,” he said. “I can understand why a lot of people are prioritizing the FedEx Cup events and great golf events. The Olympics are relatively new for golf, and I don’t blame them.”

Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott are two stars who have already pulled out of Olympic consideration, with Webb Simpson also expressing hesitation at traveling to Japan for the competition. However, Rahm has not ruled out participating in the games.

“I’ve been able to win championships representing Spain as an amateur in almost every manage level, and to bring back the gold medal would be something amazing,” Rahm said.

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. 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. Men’s qualifying ends on June 21, the day after the U.S. Open; women’s qualifying ends June 28.

The men’s competition at the 2021 Summer Olympics begins July 29 at Kasumigaseki C.C., just outside Tokyo, Japan. Justin Rose is the defending gold medal winner.

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By Joel Beall
The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to begin in late July following a one-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the global event will be closed off to the rest of the world.

After weeks of rumours and reports, organisers officially announced the Summer Games will not allow international spectators.

“Currently, the COVID-19 situation in Japan and many other countries around the world is still very challenging and a number of variant strains have emerged, whilst international travel remains severely restricted globally,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement Saturday. “Based on the present situation of the pandemic, it is highly unlikely that entry into Japan will be guaranteed this summer for people from overseas. In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“This conclusion will further contribute to ensure safe and secure games for all participants and the Japanese public.”

It was a joint decision made by the Tokyo local government, the Tokyo Organizing Committee and the government of Japan, and reflected the overall sentiment of the Japanese public. Close to 80 percent of the country’s population opposed hosting fans from overseas due to COVID-19 risks, with a similar percentage wanting the games to be cancelled or delayed further.

“The fact that spectators are not able to attend the games from abroad—that is very disappointing and it’s regrettable. It was an unavoidable decision,” said Seiko Hashimoto, a former Olympian and president of the Tokyo Olympic committee. “However, the essentials of the Games will remain unchanged, as athletes give their utmost and inspire the world with transcendent performances. We are currently working on specific plans to share support remotely from around the world and help bring people together in ways suited to our current times. Even if you are no longer able to come to Japan this summer, we hope very much that you will continue to support the Tokyo 2020 Games.”

Golf will make its second appearance at the Summer Olympics following a 112-year absence from the Games. However, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson has already withdrawn from consideration and former U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson has also signalled he may not participate. This has sparked worry the 2021 games will suffer the same fate as the 2016 competition, which was passed on by most of the sport’s best players.

The men’s competition at the 2021 Summer Olympics begins July 29 at Kasumigaseki C.C., just outside Tokyo, Japan. Justin Rose is the defending gold medal winner. The women’s competition begins Aug. 4, with Inbee Park as the defending champion.

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By Ryan Herrington
Golf made a memorable return to the Olympics in 2016 after an 112-year absence and will be part of the Summer Games again this July in Tokyo—so long as there are a Summer Games this July in Tokyo. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the International Olympic Committee to postpone the entire 2020 Olympics to 2021, and while there is uncertainty about how many fans will be allowed to attend and much of the logistics, the IOC is preparing to move forward with the competition this summer.

When it is played, 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 35 miles northwest of downtown Tokyo. As was the case 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? The short answer is the same way they were supposed to be a year ago.

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 published Olympic Golf Rankings (Jan. 11). 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.

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 21, the day after the U.S. Open; women’s qualifying ends June 28). The men’s competition will be held July 29-Aug. 1; the women’s Aug. 4-7.

MEN (World Ranking in parenthesis)

Argentina
Emiliano Grillo (159)
Fabian Gomez (293)

Australia
Adam Scott (22)
Cameron Smith (29)
Next in line: Marc Leishman (30), Jason Day (44), Lucas Herbert (70)

Austria
Bernd Wiesberger (42)
Matthias Schwab (111)
Next in line: Sepp Straka (144)

Belgium
Thomas Detry (82)
Thomas Pieters (84)
Next in line: Nicolas Colsaerts (231)

Canada
Mackenzie Hughes (49)
Corey Conners (54)
Next in line: Adam Hadwin (80)

Czech Republic
Ondrej Liese (171)

Chile
Joaquin Niemann (31)

China
Haotong Li (172)
Xinjun Zhang (191)

Chinese Taipei
C.T. Pan (147)

Colombia
Sebastian Munoz (56)

Denmark
Rasmus Hojgaard (87)
Joachim B. Hansen (142)

Finland
Sami Valimaki (69)
Mikko Korhonen (156)
Next in line: Kalle Samooja (243)

France
Victor Perez (33)
Antoine Rozner (108)
Next in line: Michael Lorenzo-Vera (112), Romain Langasque (120), Benjamin Hebert (137)

Germany
Martin Kaymer (79)
Sebastian Heisele (209)
Next in line: Stephan Jaeger (234)

Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Tyrrell Hatton (10)
Matthew Fitzpatrick (16)
Next in line: Tommy Fleetwood (19), Paul Casey (26), Lee Westwood (36), Justin Rose (37), Ian Poulter (48)

India
Rashid Khan (294)
Next in line: Udayan Mane (300)

Ireland
Rory McIlroy (7)
Shane Lowry (34)
Next in line: Graeme McDowell (81)

Italy
Francesco Molinari (122)
Renato Paratore (146)
Next in line: Francesco Laporta (149), Guido Migliozzi (203)

Japan
Hideki Matsuyama (21)
Shugo Imahira (76)
Next in line: Ryo Ishikawa (91), Rikuya Hoshino (109), Takumi Kanaya (118)

Malaysia
Gavin Kyle Green (190)

Mexico
Abraham Ancer (24)
Carlos Ortiz (60)

The Netherlands
Joost Luiten (164)
Wil Besseling (168)

New Zealand
Danny Lee (140)
Ryan Fox (205)

Norway
Viktor Hovland (14)
Kristoffer Ventura (179)

Poland
Adrian Meronk (186)

Slovakia
Rory Sabbatini (122)

South Africa
Louis Oosthuizen (23)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (35)
Next in line: Erik van Rooyen (52), Dylan Frittelli (67), Garrick Higgo (89), George Coetze (93), Shaun Norris (113)

South Korea
Sungjae Im (18)
Byeong Hun An (77)
Next in line: Sung Kang (86), Si Woo Kim (100)

Spain
Jon Rahm (2)
Sergio Garcia (45)
Next in line: Rafa Cabrera-Bello (106)

Sweden
Henrik Stenson (65)
Alex Noren (94)
Next in line: Marcus Kinhult (110)

Thailand
Jazz Janewattananond (90)
Gunn Chareonkul (157)

United States
Justin Thomas (2)
Xander Schauffele (4)
Collin Morikawa (5)
Bryson DeChambeau (6)
Next in line: Webb Simpson (8), Patrick Cantlay (9), Patrick Reed (11), Brooks Koepka (12), Daniel Berger (13)

Venezuela
Jhonattan Vegas (225)

Zimbabwe
Scott Vincent (214)

Scott Halleran
Lydia Ko, Inbee Park and Shanshan Feng, medallists at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

WOMEN (Rolex Rankings in parenthesis)

Argentina
Magdalena Simmermacher (386)

Australia
Minjee Lee (8)
Hannah Green (18)
Next in line: Katherine Kirk (82), Su-Hyun Oh (87)

Austria
Christine Wolf (254)

Belgium
Manon De Roey (224)

Canada
Brooke Henderson (6)
Alena Sharp (105)

China
Shanshan Feng (31)
Yu Liu (58)
Next in line: Xiyu Lin (98), Jing Yan (107)

Chinese Taipei
Wei-Ling Hsu (126)
Teresa Lu (131)

Colombia
Mariajo Uribe (221)

Czech Republic
Klara Spilkova (294)

Denmark
Emily Kristine Pedersen (71)
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (76)
Next in line: Nicole Larsen (101)

Ecuador
Daniela Darquea (265)

Finland
Matilda Castrren (212)
Sanna Nuutinen (247)
Next in line: Ursula Wikstrom (338)

France
Celine Boutier (57)
Perrine Delacour (103)

Germany
Sophia Popov (26)
Caroline Masson (51)

Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Charley Hull (34)
Georgia Hall (38)
Next in line: Melissa Reid (39), Bronte Law (68), Jodi Shadoff (78)

Hong Kong
Tiffany Chan (256)

India
Aditi Ashok (172)
Diksha Dagar (401)

Ireland
Stephanie Meadow (193)
Leona Maguire (213)

Italy
Giulia Molinaro (332)

Japan
Nasa Hataoka (7)
Hinako Shibuno (13)
Ai Suzuki (14)
Next in line: Ayaka Furue (16), Ai Suzuki (22)

Malaysia
Kelly Tan (144)

Mexico
Gaby Lopez (56)
Maria Fassi (138)

Morocco
Maha Haddioui (397)

The Netherlands
Anne van Dam (97)

New Zealand
Lydia Ko (29)

Norway
Marianna Skarpnord (190)
Tonje Daffinrud (360)

Paraguay
Julieta Granada (412)

The Philippines
Yuka Saso (45)
Bianca Pagdanganan (150)

Puerto Rico
Maria Fernanda Torres (133)

South Africa
Ashleigh Buhai (70)
Lee-Anne Pace (278)

South Korea
Jin Young Ko (1)
Sei Young Kim (2)
Inbee Park (3)
Hyo-Joo Kim (9)
Next in line: Sung Hyun Park (10), Jeongeun Lee6 (12), So Yeon Ryu (14), Hae Ryu (17), Hana Jang (20)

Spain
Carlota Ciganda (15)
Azahara Munoz (69)

Sweden
Anna Nordqvist (54)
Madelene Sagstrom (61)
Next in line: Linnea Strom (122), Caroline Hedwall (139)

Thailand
Ariya Jutanugarn (21)
Moriya Jutanugarn (43)
Next in line: Jasmine Suwannapura (73)

United States
Nelly Korda (4)
Danielle Kang (5)
Lexi Thompson (11)
Next in line: Jennifer Kupcho (19), Jessica Korda (23), Austin Ernst (32), Lizette Salas (33), Ally Ewing (35)

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By Joel Beall
If qualifying for the 2020 Olympics ended today, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson would be part of the four-man contingent representing the United States. Judging by the comments of the American stars on Tuesday, neither sounds thrilled at the prospect.

Speaking at the European Tour’s Saudi International, both Koepka and Johnson downplayed the importance of the golf competition in the Summer Games, which returned after a 112-year absence in 2016.

For Koepka, the weight of the majors far outweighs the enticement of a golf medal.

“Because it’s so new, I don’t, no,” Koepka said. “I think it’s an incredible honour for most athletes that are running 100 meters, gymnastics, anything like that, they wait four years for that. But we have four majors a year. For track, you’ve got indoors and outdoor championships and different things like that, but the Olympics is their big event and it only comes around every four years.”

The world No. 1 even suggested—due to his sport’s hectic summer schedule—he wasn’t sure he would play in the games, held in Tokyo.

“In golf, we’ve got four majors every year, and now we’re going to add the Olympics and you’ve got the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup, plus the FedExCup for us, and that’s a lot of weeks travelling back and forth, a lot of time zones,” Koepka said. “To me, the four majors are definitely more important, and the FedExCup, too, is a goal of mine. We’ll see where everything else falls.”

Johnson was more direct about his noncommittal.

“Schedule is always a big part of your season. You sit down at the beginning of the year just to kind of see, what events fall where,” Johnson said. “Representing the United States in the Olympics is something that I definitely would be proud to do, but is it going to fit in the schedule properly? I’m not really sure about that.

“There are so many events that are right there and leading up to it. So, you know, I’m still working with my team to figure out what’s the best thing for me to do.”

Many of the game’s stars skipped the 2016 games in Rio, citing safety and health concerns, but Johnson and Koepka are the first big names to publicly state a lack of enthusiasm for 2020. For their parts, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have voiced ambitions for the Tokyo Games.

Along with Koepka and Johnson, the U.S. team would be rounded out by Woods and Justin Thomas. The International Golf Federation will utilize the Official World Golf Rankings to create the Olympic Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top-15 players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. The qualification period to earn points runs from July 1, 2018, to June 22, 2020 (the U.S. Open).

Golf remains a trial sport in the Summer Games, with a guaranteed spot in 2020 and a likely appearance in 2024, but the International Olympic Committee has not committed further. The men’s competition begins on July 30 at Japan’s Kasumigaseki Country Club. Justin Rose is the defending gold medalist.

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