Carlos Ortiz thinks some golfers should be at the Paris 2024 Olympics but aren’t because of politics.
He qualified for the event as the 48th player, along with Abraham Ancer, who made it in as the 56th out of 60. Ortiz didn’t name anyone specifically but hinted at an “unfair” situation.
Seven LIV players are in the tournament, but only Jon Rahm (8th) and Adrian Meronk (29th) were in the top half of the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR). Others like Joaquin Niemann (34th) and David Puig (37th) were mid-pack when qualifying ended on June 17. Mito Pereira replaced Cristobal Del Solar and ended up in the bottom 25%.
Challenges for LIV Players
LIV players struggled to climb the OGR because their league didn’t get world-ranking points from the Official World Golf Ranking organization. The PIF-backed competition gave up trying to get these points in March after many rejections. This left golfers to either accept lower rankings or play on recognized tours like the Asian Tour during off weeks.
Cameron Smith hoped to represent Australia at the Olympics but missed out to Min Woo Lee and Jason Day. Bryson DeChambeau faced a similar fate, calling it a “disappointing and frustrating situation” after failing to make Team USA’s strong four-man squad.
Ortiz was asked about how hard it was for LIV golfers to qualify for Paris 2024. He said it’s unfair that politics still control things: “You want to have the best golfers here, but politics somehow manage things still.”
Fans might feel this is really unfair.
Ortiz believes Olympic Games should be neutral and not influenced by ranking points that no longer work properly.
Finding Common Ground
Progress on a unification deal between PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers has been slow. Hopes for a workaround regarding world-ranking points seem distant. Ortiz urged those involved to put their egos aside: “The solution would be people up there leave their egos on the side and find common ground.”
Ancer and Jon Rahm suggested letting each National Olympic Committee choose their representatives could solve this issue. Rahm said countries should pick their players like Team USA Basketball does: “There needs to be some guidelines, but let each country choose who they want.”
Ancer echoed this idea later, mentioning his gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games as a possible qualification route: “Maybe that would be a way to fix it… I won gold at Pan American Games but that didn’t do anything.”
Do you think countries should pick their own athletes for events?
