Bryson DeChambeau has established himself as one of the best golfers in the world with his performance at majors during golf's 2024 season.
Despite DeChambeau's strong performance, he won't represent his country at the Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old couldn't make up enough ground at the 2024 U.S. Open to qualify over the other Americans on Team USA's four-man squad.
How did DeChambeau come up short in his pursuit of an Olympic bid? It's all about his association with LIV Golf and the disconnect between that tour and the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
MORE: How Bryson DeChambeau made 'the shot of [his] life' to win 2024 U.S. Open
Why isn't Bryson DeChambeau going to Olympics?
DeChambeau isn't going to the Olympics because of his standing in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
DeChambeau entered the U.S. Open ranked 38th overall in the OWGR. That was a vast improvement upon his 155th ranking at the end of the 2023 season, and he will likely continue to move up after his strong showing at the 2024 U.S. Open.
Still, DeChambeau's improvement won't be enough to place him among the four top Americans in the OWGR, who all rank within the top 10. The highest DeChambeau could get with a win was 10th in the OWGR.
If DeChambeau were playing on the PGA Tour, he would almost certainly be among the top-four ranked Americans. He may even be ranked as a top-five player in the world.
However, LIV Golf events aren't recognized by the OWGR. The rankings system objects to the tour's 54-hole format, the minimal turnover within the field from week to week and season to season, and the guarantees of inclusion for players regardless of performance.
As such, DeChambeau doesn't earn OWGR points for his LIV Golf events. He only earns them at major events, so while he has done well enough in those to rocket toward the top 20, he won't get high enough to displace the top Americans competing for spots in Paris, like Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa.
MORE: How much does Bryson DeChambeau make from LIV Golf?
Can LIV Golf players be in the Olympics?
Yes, LIV Golfers can play in the Olympics. They simply have a harder path to qualifying because their normal events don't earn OWGR points.
That will make it difficult for golfers like DeChambeau, who comes from a country with many high-end golf options, to qualify to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But golfers like Jon Rahm — who was a late arrival to LIV Golf and still ranks top 10 in the world — will easily qualify to represent Spain in the event. The same can be said of Poland's Adrian Meronk. He is the lone Polish golfer in the top 100 of the OWGR, so that should grant him an easy entry into the 60-man field.
Can LIV Golfers play for Team USA?
Yes, Team USA didn't bar LIV Golf participants from playing on the country's Olympic golf team. The Olympic qualifying system simply made it extremely difficult for any American LIV Golfer to qualify for the team without winning multiple major events.
MORE: Full list of Olympic golfers by country for the 2024 Paris Games
Who will be on the USA Olympic golf team?
The United States will be the only country to bring four golfers to Paris in the men's field. They are as follows, alongside their OWGR rankings:
- Scottie Scheffler (1)
- Xander Schauffle (3)
- Wyndham Clark (5)
- Collin Morikawa (7)
DeChambeau moved up to 10th in the OWGR with his win at the U.S. Open, but that wasn't high enough to come within striking distance of the Team USA cut-off. Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay narrowly missed leapfrogging Morikawa after finishing third at Pinehurst; Cantlay needed to finish second or better to overtake his fellow Californian.
Though DeChambeau didn't make Team USA, his winning has created more conversation about allowing more frequent opportunities for LIV Golfers to earn OWGR points.
And he has accepted that his signing with LIV Golf sealed his fate, even if he is "frustrated and disappointed" by the Olympic golf qualification process.
"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 "The Pat McAfee Show," per 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."
How does Olympic golf qualifying work?
For more on the process of qualifying for the Olympics — and to see the players currently comprising the 60-golfer men's field for the event — click here.
