Olympics Golf Body Reviewing Eligibility Rules Which Could Open Door For LIV Golf Players In 2028
The door may be open for more LIV players to compete in the Olympics.
The 2028 Olympics will be here before we know it, and while the golf portion of the Games is highly anticipated with the added mixed team event and it being contested at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, there is another storyline flying under the radar a bit.
As things stand at the moment, the Top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system earn automatic entry, with a cap of four players per country. Players who fall outside the Top 15, the two highest-ranked players from countries not already represented, round out the 60-player fields on the men’s and women’s sides.
With the OWGR still not recognizing LIV Golf as a legitimate circuit, the vast majority of LIV players have plummeted in the rankings, with major championships and starts on other tours being the only opportunities they can earn points for the system.
Bryson DeChambeau (16) and Tyrrell Hatton (22) are the only LIV players currently ranked inside the Top 65 in the OWGR.
Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
This could all change sooner rather than later, however, with NewsWire Australia reporting that the Olympic governing body is "reviewing" eligibility rules that could open the door for LIV players to qualify.
The 2024 Olympics in Paris featured seven LIV players, headlined by Spain's Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann out of Chile. They currently rank 75th and 103rd, respectively.
While the individual tournament on the men's and women's sides will garner attention, it's the new mixed team event that has the golf world most excited.
The mixed event will be a 36-hole competition: 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round, followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round. There will be a maximum of one team per country, with teams comprised of one male and one female who are already qualified for the Men’s and Women’s Individual Olympic Golf Competitions. It will take place in between the conclusion of the individual men's competition and before the start of the women's tournament.