Jason Day and Min Woo Lee will represent Australia in the men’s golf tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, having secured quotas through the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) on Tuesday.
At the upcoming Summer Games, 60 men’s golfers and as many women will tee off at the Le Golf National on August 1. Host nation France are guaranteed a minimum of two quota places – one per gender – while the remaining 118 (59 per gender) are decided by the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) list.
The OGR is ordered according to the average points golfers manage to accumulate in the qualification window. The ranking cut-off date was June 17 for men. The women’s cut-off date is June 24.
The top 15 athletes on the OGR after the qualifying window are selected by name and secure their Paris Olympic quota places, with a maximum of four athletes allowed per country.
After the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings (OGR) comprise up to the top two eligible players per country, as long as that country does not already have at least two players in the top 15.
After the men’s cut-off date ended on Monday, Jason Day, the world No. 24, was placed 14th in the OGR while Min Woo Lee was 36th.
Both Australian golfers are set to make their Olympic debuts in Paris. Jason was qualified for Rio 2016 but had to opt out because of family reasons.
“I’m looking forward to it. I think I made a bit of a mistake not going down to Rio, even though part of it was family-related,” Jason Day said. “I kind of missed out on that, and I probably should have gone. But if I get the opportunity, I’m looking forward to going.”
Min Woo Lee, currently 36th in men’s golf rankings, meanwhile, will become the second Olympian to play golf from his family. His older sister Minje Lee is a two-time Olympian and is expected to make the cut for a third time alongside Hannah Green when the women’s golf qualifying window ends next week.
Marcus Fraser and Scott Hend were Australia’s men’s representatives when golf made its Olympic return in 2016 while Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman competed at Tokyo 2020.
Fraser’s tie for fifth at Rio 2016 is Australia’s best result in the men’s golf competition while Green’s T5 finish at Tokyo is the best finish any Aussie women’s golfer has managed at the Summer Games.
Australian golf team for Paris 2024 Olympics
Men’s: Jason Day, Min Woo Lee
Women’s: TBD