Spain’s Jon Rahm would like to see a different format and different way of selecting golfers to participate in the Olympics.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s first round of the men’s tournament at the Paris Games, Rahm proposed allowing each country to select its representing golfers, as opposed to the current format based on world golf rankings.
“There needs to be some guidelines,” Rahm told reporters at Le Golf National, “but, like, Team USA Basketball (is) free to choose whoever they want.”
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The Olympic qualifying process has come under scrutiny this year for excluding some players for LIV Golf, whose three-round tournaments aren’t acknowledged by the world rankings.
While seven LIV players, including Rahm, were able to qualify for their respective country, Americans like reigning U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka of the USA were not.
“I think you need to let each country choose who they want to play,” Rahm said.
Jon Rahm of Spain acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day four of The 152nd Open championship at Royal Troon on July 21, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Golf is still a relatively new inclusion for the Olympics, having only rejoined the program in 2016 after an a 112-year absence. In doing so, it has adopted a traditional 72-hole individual tournament.
Rahm said he’d like the Olympics to expand to include “some team aspect.”
“That would be extremely nice to share the stage with another player,” Rahm said, “to do something different, to maybe what we do every other day.”
Team USA’s Xander Schauffele, also speaking to reporters Tuesday, pushed back a bit on the idea of a team event in addition to the individual tournament, because it would mean more golf for a tour accustomed to a regularly playing from Thursday to Sunday, as will be the case this week.
“I’m a big advocate of don’t knock on it until you try it,” Schauffele said. “My only issue with it would be sort of the run of events, it being two weeks in a row. … It would be sticky to do two tournaments in a row and because of that, you may lose some guys.”