It was dramatic to the finish. Amy Yang clinched her first major championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA and with it, a berth into the Paris Olympics. Yang wasn’t the only one to shore up a spot in the 60-player field with strong play in Sammamish, Washington. Runner-up Miyu Yamashita of Japan did the same.
The field was finalized on Monday after the conclusion of the third women’s major of the season. The 2024 Summer Olympics will begin with the men’s competition Aug. 1-4, followed by the women’s event Aug. 7-10. Le Golf National, the 2018 Ryder Cup venue and home of the DP World Tour’s Open de France, will host.
LPGA Hall of Fame member Inbee Park won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games while current No. 1 Nelly Korda won in 2021.
The International Golf Federation utilizes the Rolex Rankings to create its own Olympic Golf Rankings. The top 15 players in the world are eligible for Paris, with a limit of four players from any given country. The rest of the field comes straight from the rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players in the top 15.
The race to make Japan’s team got heated after Yuka Saso won the U.S. Women’s Open, and then took a controversial turn after Nasa Hataoka was disqualified at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Hataoka was subsequently passed in the rankings by Ayaka Furue, who tied for second at ShopRite.
In the end Yamashita, a JLPGA player who also tied for 12th at the U.S. Women’s Open, passed them both with her fine play at Sahalee.
American Ally Ewing tied for fifth at the KPMG and took a share of third at the USWO, but it wasn’t enough. She came up one spot short, moving up to 16th in the Rolex Rankings.
For the first time, no country in Paris will have four representatives.
Here’s a look at the final women’s field for the 2024 Paris Olympics (Rolex Rankings in parentheses):