The 2024 Paris men's Olympic golf tournament is underway at Le Golf National, just outside of Paris, France, with 60 players taking on the 2018 Ryder Cup host venue in search of the third Olympic gold medal in modern history.
For the United States of America, there are four players in the field -- the maximum number allowed under the qualifying criteria, as all four Americans are in the top 15 of the Olympic golf ranking. Those four players on Team USA are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Notably missing from the United States men's team in Paris is the reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who won his second national championship (2020) at Pinehurst No. 2 in June. A good number of golf fans are both confused and upset as to why DeChambeau is not on the US Olympic golf team. However, there is a reason why, and it has to do with how the ranking works and when the cutoff was to qualify.
The men's Olympic golf tournament field for Paris was decided on June 18, based on the Olympic golf ranking at that time. The Olympic golf ranking for the men's side is, effectively, the Official World Golf Ranking at that point in time. When that ranking was determined, the top four American players in the Official World Golf Ranking were, in order, Scottie Scheffler (1), Xander Schauffele (3), Wyndham Clark (5) and Collin Morikawa (7).
After his US Open win, DeChambeau moved up to 10th in the OWGR, but that put him outside the top four Americans. That's why he's not on the team.
That's the short answer. The longer answer, however, is that DeChambeau has not been earning Official World Golf Ranking points for his finishes on the LIV Golf League, as that circuit has not satisifed OWGR criteria to award points to their players. LIV Golf tournaments are 54 holes with a 54-player field that faces no cut. The biggest problems for the OWGR with rating LIV Golf events are that there's a team component where collusion is possible and there's not a clear, consistent system of promotion and relegation. Also, since it is largely a contract-based system, it is seen as a closed shop, meaning there's not fair player movement.
DeChambeau knew this potential problem when he signed with LIV Golf, even though he has argued vehemently for LIV Golf events to receive OWGR points. However, those arguments have not been persuasive, and so he finds himself not on the American team, just short of the points needed based on a tremendous major championship season in 2024.
