DeChambeau dominated the U.S. Open, he’s in killer form! But he won’t make the Olympics

That the Olympics should belong to the best current athletes in their field? That’s probably how it should be, or at least that should be the nature of participation under the five rings. But American golfer Bryson DeChambeau will be out of luck, despite having just won the U.S. Open, one of the greatest golf tournaments of all time.

Bryson DeChambeau played one of the tournaments of his life over the weekend at the Pinehurst No. 2 course in North Carolina. In a nerve-wracking finish, he finally edged out Rory McIlroy by one shot when he played a bunker shot on the 18th hole that he later referred to as the shot of a lifetime.

Then all he had to do was convert one routine putt and the geyser of emotion flowed. The American sharpshooter completed his second career U.S. Open title on Sunday. DeChambeau also capped a very successful season with this triumph. Leaving aside his fantastic form at the LIV Golf League, he has been very visible at all three majors this season.

At the Masters in mid-April at Augusta National, he finished in a tie for sixth place. A month later at the PGA Championship he even took second place, just one shot behind Xander Schauffele. By the third major of the season in the form of the U.S. Championship, he had already managed to dominate and win.

Although he is inherently one of the best players in the world with his current form, he is no slouch in qualifying for the Olympics in Paris. Due to the fact that he does not have enough points in the OWGR(Official World Golf Ranking), he will not make the US team in July/August.

World Ranking spoiled

Before that, The Open 2024 is on the schedule, which will be the fourth and final major of the season. Even there, Bryson DeChambeau could rack up some points, but it will be too late. Last year’s U.S. Open was also the last qualifying tournament to make it to the Olympics.

The top fifteen players from the world rankings automatically qualify for the prestigious five-round event in Paris, but no more than four players from any one country. This means that the world number one Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele (3), Wyndham Clark (5) and Collin Morikawa (7) are among those selected.

Although DeChambeau is 10th overall after his triumph at the U.S. Open, he is only fifth among Americans, the first below the line. That’s because DeChambeau is a player in the LIV Golf League, where players still can’t earn world ranking points. At the same time, they are still banned from PGA Tour events, so they have no place to earn the necessary points.

Many players, including those on the PGA Tour, have been calling for the OWGR to be fixed for some time. The addition of points to the world rankings is chaotic, uneven and certainly does not reflect the current quality of the world’s best players. The whole of top golf is in a somewhat dark period.

Last summer, the PGA Tour announced that it had entered into a partnership with the PIF (Public Investment Fund, or Saudi Arabian Investment Fund) to bring the world’s best golf competitions together. To date, however, there has been no final agreement. PIF is also an investor in the LIV Golf League, which has bothered the PGA Tour the most in the past. Therefore, it has decided to exclude players who will play at the LIV from its tour.

Source: The Athletic