Louis Oosthuizen is among a list of notable players who have requested to opt out of the 2024 Olympics.
According to Spanish outlet ElPeriodiGolf, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton, Thomas Pieters and Marcel Siem will also not be competing in Paris.
The withdrawal of LIV golfers is not surprising, as they continue to be denied Official World Golf Ranking points in LIV events.
Oosthuizen is currently ranked 112th (sixth among South Africans), with Koepka 31st (18th among Americans).
The 2024 Olympics will be the third in a row for golf after a break of 112 years.
The sport returned to the Rio Games in 2016 and was also included at Tokyo 2020, a showpiece that was staged in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two gold medallists in the men’s individual competition were Justin Rose (Great Britain) and Xander Schauffele (USA). The women’s gold medallists have been Inbee Park (Korea) and Nelly Korda (USA).
South Africa’s men’s representatives in Rio were Brandon Stone and Jaco van Wyk, and in Tokyo they were Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Garrick Higgo. The women were Paula Reto and Ashleigh Buhai. There were no South African women in Tokyo.
The top-15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from any one country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the World Ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15.
There will be 60 men’s golfers and 60 women’s golfers in Paris.
Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
