The list of male golfers for the 2024 Paris Olympics was just finalized, but not without some drama.
Bryson DeChambeau is upset he didn’t make the US team despite his great performances this year, including a win at Pinehurst No.2.
Now, Branden Grace is questioning why his teammates Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester aren’t representing South Africa even though they’ve been playing well.
Grace spoke at a press conference with Oosthuizen and Burmester before LIV Golf Nashville. He said they should be on the team based on their wins and performances over the past year or more.
Oosthuizen had two DP World Tour victories in 2023 and two runner-up finishes in LIV Golf this season. Burmester won April’s LIV Golf Miami event and has been doing great too.
Olympic Selection Controversy:
Despite their success, both players’ world rankings are lower than Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen, who will represent South Africa. Bezuidenhout and Van Rooyen only had one win between them during the qualifying period but play in events that count towards world rankings regularly.
Grace thinks countries should have different ways to pick their teams. He said each country should find its own way to get the criteria right for qualification because the current system isn’t accurate.
I asked the 🇿🇦 Stingers about the Olympics.
As usual, their answers were thoughtful (with a bit of fun mixed in at the end).
— Mike McAllister (@thegolfeditor)
Oosthuizen admitted he’s never been a big fan of golf being part of the Olympics. He grew up thinking Majors were more important and skipped an Olympic opportunity once because it clashed with a Major event.
Fans might feel that these selection issues could affect how fair they think Olympic golf is.
Looking back, Oosthuizen thinks it would’ve been nice to have represented his country but wishes good luck to those who are going instead.
Burmester also wished Christiaan and Erik well, saying they’ve played great golf too. He added that representing your country at the Olympics is special, so it’s an honor for them to go.
What do you think about these selection controversies?
