Scottie Scheffler Guarantees Spot At Paris Olympics After Players Championship Win

The World No.1 is set to make his Olympic debut later this year, after becoming the first player from the United States to be mathematically guaranteed qualification

Scottie Scheffler holds The Players Championship trophy
(Image credit: Getty Images)

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has guaranteed his spot at the upcoming Olympics in Paris, following his win at the Players Championship last week

Qualification for the Olympics is determined by the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), with 60 spots available for the men’s and women’s competitions. The field will be based on the OWGR on 17th June for men and 24th June for women, with countries permitted two players per nation and up to four if all of those players are ranked in the top 15.

Each continent is guaranteed at least one player in both the men’s and women’s events, with the highest ranked athlete from each continent earning their spot if not already qualified.

According to OWGR guru Nosferatu on Twitter, Scheffler became the first player from the United States to be mathematically guaranteed a spot at the Games. Based on the projected rankings for 17th June, Wyndham Clark, Xander Schauffele and Brian Harman could also join Scheffler on Team USA. 

It will be Scheffler’s first Olympics after failing to qualify for the Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when golf made its return to the Games or in Tokyo in 2020 (which was played in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic). 

Americans Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda won the gold medals in Tokyo, while Justin Rose of Great Britain and South Korea’s Inbee Park claimed gold in 2016.

This year’s Olympic golf competitions will take place between 1st and 10th August at Le Golf National, the same venue that hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup. The AP reported this week that Olympic officials are close to finalizing a mixed-team competition involving both male and female players for the 2028 Los Angeles Games at Riviera Country Club.

Joel Kulasingham
News Writer

Joel Kulasingham is freelance writer for Golf Monthly. He has worked as a sports reporter and editor in New Zealand for more than five years, covering a wide range of sports including golf, rugby and football. He moved to London in 2023 and writes for several publications in the UK and abroad. He is a life-long sports nut and has been obsessed with golf since first swinging a club at the age of 13. These days he spends most of his time watching, reading and writing about sports, and playing mediocre golf at courses around London.