Tight races define men’s Olympic Golf Ranking 100 days out from competition

While Scottie Scheffler has been the dominant force across men’s golf in the spring of 2024 – bolstered by wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters Tournament and, most recently, the RBC Heritage – a number of storylines have emerged as the calendar creeps towards the 2024 Paris Olympics. Tuesday, April 23, marked the 100-day mark from the start of the men’s golf competition, but perhaps more immediately, the June 17 qualification deadline for the men’s golf competition is less than two months away.

With 60 spots up for grabs in the men’s competition, a finite number of opportunities remain for players to maintain their status inside the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) or breach the top 60.

This week’s movement inside the top 60 included Matti Schmid edging countryman Yannik Paul for Germany’s second position, alongside Stephan Jaeger, who recently solidified his spot with a win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open on the PGA TOUR. Schmid and Paul are not the only two countrymen battling for a position: Close races exist for several other countries, including Japan, Canada, South Korea, Denmark and Spain. In the past month, Byeong Hun An has overtaken Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim for the second position representing South Korea (alongside Tom Kim), while Japan’s Keita Nakajima has edged ahead of Ryo Hisatsune after a win at the Hero Indian Open at the end of March.

Beyond competitions between players from individual countries, there is a top-60 “bubble” that several players are jostling around: This week, Norway’s Kris Ventura surpassed Finland’s Kalle Samooja after a top-five finish on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Countries can only have more than two representatives if they have more than two within the top 15 of the OGR (with a limit of four). As currently constructed, the United States (four) is the only country projected to include more than two representatives in the men’s competition.

With less than two months until the field is finalized, it’s officially crunch time for those hoping to represent their country on the grandest stage.