Bryson DeChambeau missed the 2020 Olympics because of COVID and now he’s set to miss to this year’s Olympics due to the continued infighting in golf.
The reigning US Open champion would prefer to be in Paris for the Games, but because of LIV Golf’s disconnect with the Official World Golf Rankings he’ll be watching from home like the rest of the country.
“I would love to represent the United States,” DeChambeau said Monday during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “It was tough for me not to go last time around cause of COVID and it was just one of those that happened. Hopefully one day this game of golf will get figured out and come back together and I’ll be able to play.
“I’m playing great golf, I’m excited. Ultimately, am I frustrated, disappointed? Sure, you can absolutely say that, but I made the choices that I made and there’s consequences to that, and I respect it, but hopefully sooner rather than later we figure that out.”
DeChambeau is falling victim to the situation between LIV Golf and the OWGR where the rebel golf league’s events aren’t recognized and don’t count toward the rankings system.
The OWGR objects to LIV Golf’s 54-hole format among other aspects of the league and therefore DeChambeau doesn’t earn any points in the OWGR when he completes in LIV events, which he jumped ship to in 2022 on a reported nine-figure deal.
All of that matters because the Olympic team is selected based on the OWGR with the top four ranked Americans making the cut for the squad headed to Paris in August.
Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa are all higher in the rankings than DeChambeau, despite the US Open winner taking a massive leap in the rankings thanks to his big victory over the weekend.
DeChambeau had entered the US Open ranked 38th overall in the OWGR.
His victory at Pinehurst No. 2 moved him up to 10th in the rankings but still behind the other top American golfers.