“Allow the countries to pick themselves,” said Jon Rahm recently when asked about his thoughts on the selection criteria for the Olympics. Surprisingly, it not only hinders some of the best golfers from fulfilling their patriotic dreams, but it also this time stole LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s chance to earn OWGR Points. But how?

It’s no secret that LIV golfers are already struggling to compete in the majors due to OWGR restrictions. Despite this, DeChambeau, who won the 2024 US Open, managed to reach #9 in the OWGR. However, he still couldn’t represent the USA in the Olympics because he was not in the top four American golfers in OWGR. Before him stood Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, 2x major winner Xander Schauffele, and unexpectedly Wyndham Clark.

Recently, @BobHarig shared a post on X captioning, “The gold medal winner at the Olympics will also get approximately 50 OWGR points,” while comparing it with the other tournaments. Considering that if Bryson DeChambeau had been part of Team USA this week and won gold, he would have earned 50 OWGR points and would have surpassed pros like 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark, and others. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

This is the second time the ‘scientist’ missed out on the Olympics by a margin. During the Tokyo Olympics, he was initially part of Team USA. However, after testing positive for COVID before the Games, he unfortunately had to withdraw. Expressing his sadness after missing out on the opportunity this time he said “It’s disappointing, but I understand the decisions I made, and the way things have played out has not been necessarily perfectly according to plan,” before heading to the field of LIV Golf Nashville.

“I’ve done my best up until now to give myself a chance according to the OWGR, but I realize and respect where the current situation of the game is, albeit it’s frustrating and disappointing. Hopefully, 2028 will be a little different situation, and it will make it that much sweeter,” said the 30-year-old while looking forward to Los Angeles in 2028.

Not only Rahm but another LIV golfer, Joaquin Niemann, also disagreed with the Olympic selection criteria, stating, “I don’t think it’s fair.” He added, “Because you don’t have the best players right now, I feel like.” Surprisingly, the Paris Olympics are considering world rankings only for golf, while for other sports, the countries choose their own representatives. Could it be that it’s only been played for the third time in eight years? The answer remains uncertain.

While golfers may seem dissatisfied with the selection process set for the Paris Olympics, PGA Tour pro Rory McIlroy offered a different perspective on the matter.

Rory McIlroy believes the selection criteria are appropriate

McIlroy, representing Ireland at Le Golf National, is currently tied for 6th with a total of 137, 10-under-par, following the conclusion of the second round. However, a day before teeing off at the Paris Olympics, he shared his thoughts on the controversy regarding how world rankings might hinder LIV golfers from achieving their patriotic dreams. “If you want to qualify for the Olympics, you knew what you had to do,” said the Northern Irishman.

Taking into account other national tournaments like the Ryder Cup, he further added, “Just like if you wanted to qualify for the Ryder Cup, you knew what you had to do. They were very aware of the decision they made when they did,” as revealed on Golf Week. McIlroy also believes that there is no other way to select the golfers and said, “I don’t think there’s any other way to do Olympic qualifying because it’s hard to compare the golf that they play to the golf that we play. That’s the reason they didn’t get world ranking points, right?”

Do you agree with the selection criteria for Olympic golf? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!