Golf, as an Olympic sport started in the Paris game in 1900, and the next one took place in 1904, but unfortunately, due to several reasons, it was put on a halt for over 100 years! It finally made a comeback in 2016 at the Rio Summer Olympics; since then, it has been in full swing!
In recent years, there has been a lot of noise about LIV, PGA, and DP tour golfers and players. They've had a rocky relationship, banning players from different tours to play in championships arranged by different organisations. For instance, as Front Office Sports mentioned, a player's eligibility to compete in PGA Tour events is terminated upon leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. However, provided they fulfil the requirements outlined by the tournament's organising body for qualification, they are eligible to play in the Masters as well as the other three majors. But the Olympics is much different from that!
Can LIV Players play in the Olympics?
Yes, LIV players can participate and represent their country in the Olympics as the Olympics is organised by the International Golf Federation, not by PGA, LIV, or DP tour organisation, so these independent organisations have no say in who gets to play for the Olympics and who doesn't.
How are players selected for the Olympics?
Selection for the Olympics is quite different compared to other tournaments and their selections. The Summer Olympics in Paris announced they would have 120 golfers in total, with 60 golfers in each of the men's and women's games competing. This year, the host country, France, gets to have two granted places, one per gender. The remaining 118, making it 59 per gender, get selected based on their rankings in the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) again, irrespective of their PGA, DP or LIV ranking.
These tournaments play an essential role, as the points given to the golfers after each game give more weightage in the Olympic Golf Ranking or the OGR. For the selection process, the OGR ranks and points received by the athletes are calculated by dividing all the points earned by the number of tournaments played by the golfer. Though not all tournaments are considered, specific minimum and maximum tournaments are considered; for instance, for men, it is around 40-52, while for women, it is only 35 tournaments.
Out of all the athletes, only the top 15 on the OGR get to play in the Olympics, with a maximum of four athletes chosen by the National Olympic Committee. The athletes who are ranked from and after 16 are on standby or will get to fill the remaining Olympic quota places with a maximum cap of two athletes per NOC. Finally, continental places need to make sure about representation from each of the five Olympic continents. If there are any unconfirmed or even declined quota places, then those positions will be given to the next highest-ranked athlete.
FAQs On Can LIV players play in the Olympics?
A. The world's top Golf athletes will gather at Le Golf National course for the Summer Olympics from the 26th of July till the 11th of August.
A. As of now, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Colin Morikawa. and as for the women, three are competing in Paris: Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang are confirmed to play.
A. In total, 120 golfers, 60 men and 60 women, will be playing in the Olympics.
