Climax to Olympic qualification provides intriguing U.S. Open subplot

By Mathieu Wood

Amid the excitement of the U.S. Open unfolding this week at Pinehurst No. 2, there is also an intriguing subplot as players have one final chance to secure qualification for this summer’s Olympic Games.

A two-year rolling qualification period has led up to the third men's Major of the season, with the Olympic field - restricted to the top 60 players on the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) - finalised on Monday, June 17.

The top 60 in the OGR will consist of up to four participants per country within the top 15 of the ranking and up to two participants per country overall within the top 60.

With one week and one Major remaining before the qualification deadline, there are several battles to be had as final pushes are made by players to represent their nation later this summer at Le Golf National. 

Here, we take a look at some of those more fascinating storylines at play this week in North Carolina.

Who will join Scheffler, Schauffele in headline-act US team?

Heading into the penultimate men’s Major of the year, the United States has four players inside the top 15 on the OGR.

World Number One Scottie Scheffler and defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele sit in in the top two spots on the OGR and can’t be caught.

However, spots three and four are still to be decided. While reigning U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark appears likely to make his Olympic debut and the in-form two-time Major winner Collin Morikawa to join him, there are others behind hoping to vault ahead of them into the US men's Olympic squad.

But to do so, they need big finishes at their national championship this week.

Patrick Cantlay, World Number Nine, needs to finish at least tied for second to overhaul Morikawa – and that’s provided his Ryder Cup teammate does not finish seventh or better. Morikawa has finished no worse than a tie for 16th in his last six events, securing top five spots at each of this year’s Majors so far.

After that, it is uncomplicated. For Sahith Theegala, Brian Harman, Max Homa, Keegan Bradley and Russell Henley, the equation is simple. They need to win the U.S. Open to stand a chance of forcing their way into the team.

The chase is on among the Canadians

It is across the border into Canada, where further intrigue lies.

The race for Canada’s two spots has gone to the wire. Nick Taylor has long held one of those, while Adam Hadwin finished third at the PGA TOUR’s Memorial Tournament to move above Corey Conners into his nation’s other Olympic quota spot.

However, with Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson chasing and teeing it up at the U.S. Open, things could change with lots of world ranking points available.

While little separates Taylor, Hadwin and Conners, who played at the Tokyo Games alongside Hughes in 2021, the ask for the others is more demanding.

Pendrith would need to finish in a tie for third or better to vault into one of the two allocated places, with the case the same for Hughes, while Svensson needs a runner-up finish and for those ahead not to make a move.

Who will represent Spain alongside Rahm?

It’s a good question. The answer, currently, is three-time DP World Tour winner Jorge Campillo.

But, with the 38-year-old not in the 156-player field at Pinehurst, things are out of his hands.

Instead, 22-year-old David Puig, who is remarkably ranked just one place lower in the world in 117th, can overhaul his countryman by making the cut in his second U.S. Open appearance.

Eugenio Chacarra would need to finish in a tie for third or better on his Major debut, and then hope Puig missed the cut to have hope of gatecrashing.

Rahm, long since assured of his spot, withdrew from this week’s U.S. Open with a foot injury.

Up for grabs among the South Koreans

With four players from South Korea in the top 50 in the world all teeing it up this week, there is an argument for saying this is where the real drama could lie.

World Number 22 Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An, just one spot behind, are currently in pole position to feature in France this summer.

But Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim, ranked 30th and 45th in the world respectively, have their own hopes of changing those plans. 

Anything inside the top nine would see Im overhaul both Kim and Hun An, should the latter two not make the weekend.

For Kim, a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR, he needs to finish in a tie for third or better and then also hope Kim and Hun An don’t make the cut.

Can anything change the stranglehold of Fleetwood & Fitzpatrick for Great Britain? 

Even with the recent headline-making PGA TOUR win by Robert MacIntyre, the Scot is left with a big ask if he is to play his way into an Olympic debut this summer.

Out in front, and long since so, are Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick. The English duo begin the week as the world Number 13 and 16 respectively.

MacIntyre realistically needs to at least finish second to surpass 2022 U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick, while for Rose the equation is simple.

The 2013 U.S. Open champion needs to win and then hope either Fleetwood or Fitzpatrick have an off week if he is to have a chance of becoming a two-time gold medallist.

Can Molinari brothers force their way in for Italy? 

One of the many great storylines this week is the appearance of both Molinari brothers at Pinehurst, with the Ryder Cup winners having both come through Final Qualifying last month.

A year on from playing a part in the backroom team for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, the pair may have hopes of playing at the Olympics.

Currently ahead of them are Matteo Manassero, who is making his first Major start since 2016, and Guido Migliozzi, who has won on the DP World Tour at Le Golf National.

Open champion Francesco can surpass Migliozzi by finishing 14th or better, while older brother Edoardo, now outside the top 500 in the world, needs to be in the top five on the U.S. Open leaderboard come Sunday.

While those are perhaps the key Olympic narratives bubbling away in the background as players vie for one of golf's most prized trophies, they are many others. As such, there is much to play for in North Carolina.

Who is currently in line to play at the Olympic Games this summer? (Correct as of Monday, June 10)