Despite what has been a great stretch of golf, which he capped with a remarkable win at the U.S. Open on Sunday night, Bryson DeChambeau won’t be competing in the Paris Olympics later this summer.
DeChambeau just missed out on qualifying for the Olympics golf field after his win at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina on Sunday. The win jumped DeChambeau up to No. 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings, which are used to build the 60-man field for the Games in Paris. But since five other Americans are still ahead of him in the standings, and only four golfers maximum are allowed to compete from a single country, DeChambeau won’t get to play at Le Golf National.
“Hopefully one day this game of golf will get figured out and come back together and I will be able to play [in the Olympics],” DeChambeau said on Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show,” via ESPN.
“I’m playing great golf. I’m excited, but ultimately yeah, am I frustrated and disappointed? Sure, you could absolutely say that. But I made the choices that I made and there’s consequences to that and I respect it.”
DeChambeau fended off Rory McIlroy — who missed two brutal putts down the stretch — to claim his second U.S. Open title Sunday night. The win completed what’s been an incredible turnaround for DeChambeau, who has become a fan favorite in the golf world in recent months despite his jump to LIV Golf a few years ago.
It’s that jump to LIV Golf, however, that’s largely responsible for keeping DeChambeau out of the Olympics. Golfers on that Saudi Arabian-backed circuit still aren’t eligible for OWGR points. That’s caused plenty of big names to start missing out on qualifying for the major championships, something that’s only going to get worse as time goes on. DeChambeau will have only one more chance to earn world rankings points this season, while PGA Tour and DP World Tour players can earn points each week.
Talks between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour are still ongoing, despite the two sides missing a deadline more than six months ago to formalize their partnership. It’s unclear if such a deal will ever get done, or what it may look like if they can get there.
“Hopefully sooner rather than later we figure that out so this great game of golf we can get past all of that and move forward and show how awesome this sport actually is around the world,” DeChambeau said.
Which Americans will golf in Paris?
The qualification period for the men’s golf competition in Paris officially ended Sunday night after the U.S. Open.
The top 15 golfers in the OWGR after the third major championship of the year are eligible for the Olympics, though each country can only send a maximum of four golfers. The United States, for example, has nine golfers currently ranked inside the top 15. From there, the 60-man field will be made up of the top two eligible golfers per country, as long as that country doesn’t have two golfers inside the top 15.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, despite a rough T41 finish at Pinehurst, had already locked up his spot. Xander Schauffele, who dropped back to No. 3 in the world after the U.S. Open, will play in Paris, too. He won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Wyndham Clark, who won last year’s U.S. Open, and Collin Morikawa then took the last two spots for the U.S.
Morikawa, who finished fourth in Tokyo, barely edged out Patrick Cantlay for the fourth and final spot. Cantlay needed a second place finish or better at the U.S. Open to qualify. He finished in a tie for third.
Le Golf National will host both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the Olympics in August. The women’s qualification period will end after the Women’s PGA Championship.
