The two-year qualification process for golf’s return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years has been completed with the publication of the final Olympic golf rankings.
With no fewer than 40 countries included across the men’s and women’s competitions, to be played at Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course between August 11 and 20, the composition of the Olympic fields highlights the broad global diversity of the sport in Rio de Janeiro.
The International Golf Federation said that the competitions, beginning with the men from August 11-14, followed by the women from August 17-20, will have a potential global audience of around 3.6 billion.
Peter Dawson, President of the IGF, said: “After eight years of intense planning and preparation for golf’s historic return to the Olympic Games, the IGF is extremely excited finally to have reached this important milestone of identifying those players who are eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro. We are particularly gratified to see how many countries are represented among the men and women and anticipate compelling competitions for both on the outstanding golf course that Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott have created.”
Qualification began on July 14, 2014 and concluded on July 10. The full list of qualifiers confirms the names of the 120 players – 60 male and 60 female – who are now eligible to be entered by their respective National Olympic Committees in accordance with the qualification criteria.
With the world’s top four players – Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Rory McIlroy – already having withdrawn from the games, along with at least nine other further players who would otherwise have qualified, the organisers have had to ask National Olympic Committees to find alternatives to fill the gaps. Ireland will now be represented by Padraig Harrington and Seamus Power, instead of McIlroy and Shane Lowery, while the UK will be represented by Danny Willett and Justin Rose, who were already the UK first choice players. There will be four Americans in the field, headed by Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler, who qualified in first and third places respectively, along with Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar.
The final rankings see every continent being represented across both the men’s and women’s events, with Africa fielding eight eligible players; Asia 29; Australasia & Oceania eight; Europe 52; North America 11; South America 12.