Jon Rahm will hire Olympic chief to make important changes after LIV Golf stars’ rejections
Several LIV Golf stars, including Bryson DeChambeau, have been barred from the Olympic men’s golf competition, which begins Thursday at Golf National.
After learning that several of his LIV Golf colleagues, including Bryson DeChambeau, have been barred from this year’s competition, Jon Rahm called for a review of Olympic qualification criteria. Ram, 29, will represent Spain at the opening event on Thursday at Le Golf National in Paris. He will be accompanied by LIV Golf star David Puig, but many of his fellow breakaway tour players will have to sit out. The big absentees from Paris are none other than reigning U.S. Open champion Justin DeChambeau. Scottie Scheffler and While LIV is not recognized by the organization and its players do not receive ranking points for their performances in Saudi-backed tournaments, the OWGR serves as the basis for a qualifying pathway to the games. Since the breakaway league’s inception in 2022, its members’ ratings have plummeted, leaving DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and others without a ticket to Paris. Rahm argued that each participating country, rather than the OWGR, should be in charge of selecting its athletes, and he recommended that team golf be added to the Olympic Games in the future. “There should be some restrictions, but the U.S. basketball team is free to choose the players they want. I understand that each country has its own circumstances, but I think each country should be able to choose its own players,” Rahm said at a pre-tournament press conference. We hope that in the future there will also be team sports at the Olympic Games. We are here to represent Spain, so naturally we want to represent Spain in any way, whether it be in team sports or playing together. It will be very cool to share the stage with other players and try something new, different from what we do on a daily basis. »
Rahm comes to The National full of confidence after winning his first LIV Golf title this weekend at JCB Golf & Country Club in Staffordshire, England. He beat Smith, Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton to reach the top spot in the rankings. While he has high hopes of competing for the gold medal, he believes the selection process will diminish the quality of the tournament. “We want the best players to be able to participate,” Rahm continued. “In any tournament, you want the best players to represent your country. All I can say is that I can’t say it any other way. “It goes without saying that the qualification requirements may be changed, but it is a task for those who have more experience.”