Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, and Tyrrell Hatton are among the noteworthy players who have requested to withdraw from the 2024 Olympics, Golf Digest has learnt. The news was initially reported by the Spanish outlet ElPeriodiGolf.
Golf will make its third Olympic appearance this summer in Paris, after its return in 2016 after a 112-year sabbatical. However, a number of major names opted out of the 2016 Rio Games due to concerns over the Zika virus, and while attendance improved for the COVID-delayed 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, some of the game’s biggest stars still avoided the event. While participation is likely to increase by 2024, not everyone wishes to compete.
Koepka, the reigning PGA champion and five-time major winner, has asked the International Golf Federation to remove his name from consideration, according to IGF internal documents. Koepka would have had a difficult time qualifying for the United States squad; the top two players in the Official World Golf Ranking are automatically selected from any country, with up to four qualifying if all are placed in the top 15 in the OWGR. Because LIV Golf has not obtained OWGR certification, Koepka has plummeted to No. 31 in the World Ranking, 18th among all Americans. Hatton, who just switched to LIV Golf, would currently miss out on a spot for Great Britain since he is ranked No. 16 in the OWGR, with two Brits ahead of him: Matt Fitzpatrick (9) and Tommy Fleetwood (10). However, unless he performs well in the major championships, he is likely to decline further as the year unfolds.
Scott’s withdrawal is hardly surprising. The Australian had previously expressed his displeasure with golf’s inclusion in the Olympics, referring to it as a “exhibition” and arguing that amateurs should be allowed to compete. He passed up the 2016 and 2021 games. Scott is presently ranked 51st in the OWGR, third highest among Australians behind Jason Day (20) and Min Woo Lee (32).
Other players who have requested to opt out include LIV Golf’s Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) and Thomas Pieters (Belgium). Marcel Siem of Germany is the only other player who has requested that his name be removed from consideration.
Internal records suggest that the IGF does not intend to disclose whose players have opted out. However, as of writing, no female players had formally requested to opt out.
Qualifying for the 2024 Olympics began in July 2022, with golfers earning points in an official Olympics Ranking that closely resembled the men’s and women’s World Rankings. The 72-hole men’s Olympic competition begins with the opening round on August 1-4 at the Albatros course at Le Golf National, which also hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup. The women’s competition begins three days after the men’s event, from August 7 to 10, before the closing ceremony on August 11. The entire field is 60 players, with at least one slot reserved for a golfer from the host country (France) who does not otherwise qualify. No country can field more than four players, with all golfers rated in the top 15 qualifying (up to a four-golfer limit per country). After the top 15, golfers ranked 16th and lower will qualify, with no more than two players from any single country allowed to compete.