Patrick Cantlay had a dominant performance at the US Open. Thanks to his fourteen birdies throughout the tournament, he finished at T3 with 276 4-under par. But what did he get in return? Unfortunately, nothing! At Pinehurst No. 2, Bryson DeChambeau claimed the silver trophy, while Collin Morikawa unexpectedly dashed Cantlay’s hopes for the Olympics. Quite surprising, isn’t it?

At this year’s PGA Championship, Cantlay finished tied for 53rd place. Compared to his last major performance, the US Open was much better for the golfer. However, when it comes to the Paris Olympics, significant improvement isn’t the only factor that counts; specific criteria are also crucial. One of the foremost criteria is the Official World Golf Ranking (OGWR), which determines eligibility for qualifiers based on the top 60 players in the list.

Interestingly, among the top 60 players on the OWGR, the top 15 are directly eligible for the Olympic Games, with a maximum of four golfers permitted per country. Despite being ranked #8, Cantlay isn’t qualified because Team USA’s quota is already filled by Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Wyndham Clark, who are the highest-ranked Americans in the OWGR. Therefore, Cantlay’s dreams have been nullified. This came to light recently when @MorikawaTracker shared a post on X captioning “It’s official! Collin will be the #4 player for the USA at the Olympics, holding off Cantlay for the last spot.” 

Morikawa finished tied for 14th place at 2-over par with a total score of 282. His ranking wasn’t greatly affected because of his strong performance at the PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 4th place. There is also the Olympic Golf Rankings, which considers players outside the top 15 in the OWGR. This ranking system prioritizes on-course performance, particularly when a country does not already have two players in the top 15. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Joaquin Niemann, despite his current ranking of 99, has secured a spot for the Olympics. Not just Cantlay, the 2024 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is facing a similar fate.

Why isn’t DeChambeau representing Team USA alongside Collin Morikawa?

Bryson DeChambeau has undoubtedly been in decent form. Out of eight LIV Golf events so far, the American finished in the top 10 in four of them, with his best performance being fourth place at LIV Golf Jeddah. However, since the OWGR doesn’t award points to LIV Golfers, DeChambeau’s ranking suffered, and he could not qualify. Before winning the US Open title this year, the golfer was ranked 38th in OWGR.

However, after winning the title, his ranking jumped significantly to 10th. It’s clear that all his points came from Major tournaments alone. DeChambeau was part of Team USA in 2021 at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo, Japan, alongside Schauffele, Justin Thomas, and Collin Morikawa. Considering this, it must be heartbreaking for him not to represent his country again.