Bryson DeChambeau is well on his way to a second major championship title. With 18 holes to go and a three-shot lead, there’s a good chance at the end of Sunday, DeChambeau will capture his second U.S. Open championship.
The win would be significant for DeChambeau. It would be his third top-six finish at a major this year. It would be another bullet point on an already stellar resume for the 30-year-old. It would also come with a big payday.
However, there is one thing DeChambeau won’t get for a win Sunday in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2: a spot on the United States Olympic men’s golf team for the games coming in August in Paris.
DeChambeau was on the team in 2021, alongside eventual gold medalist Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Tokyo, Japan. But this year, he won’t be making the trek to Le Golf National in France.
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He has the Official World Golf Ranking to thank. Only 60 players make the field for the Olympic golf competition, with a max of four players per country if the four players are inside the top 15 in the OWGR.
The top 15 players on the OWGR are eligible for the Olympic Games, up to a maximum of four golfers from a single country.
After the top 15, the Olympic Golf Rankings consist of 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.
As it stands, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa are the four highest Americans in OWGR. Monday, June 17 is the cutoff for the Olympic competition, meaning the U.S. Open was the last chance for someone to play their way into the field, like Spain’s David Puig did.
DeChambeau is 38th in the world, which is pretty incredible considering he has only nine counting events in the system. With LIV Golf not receiving OWGR points for its events, DeChambeau and others are limited to the majors or other events to earn ranking points.
Even with a win, DeChambeau wouldn’t become one of the four highest ranked Americans. In fact, Patrick Cantlay is ranked a spot behind Morikawa, and Cantlay is likely the only American who can play his way on the team Sunday.
Last year, many people thought DeChambeau was snubbed being left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team. With his recent form, especially in the biggest events, it’s hard to imagine DeChambeau not teeing it up again in the Olympics, but it’s won’t happen, even if he wins his second major title Sunday.