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A number of players on the LIV Golf tour, Adam Scott and Marcel Siem have reportedly requested to be taken out of contention for the Olympics.
For most professional athletes, playing for your country in the Olympics is the single most honored and prestigious thing you can do. Clearly not everyone feels that way though.
Brooks Koepka (USA), Adam Scott (Australia), Tyrrell Hatton (England), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Thomas Pieters (Belguim) and Marcel Siem (Germany) have all requested to be left off their respective Olympic rosters this summer, per the Spanish outlet El Periodi Golf.
This might appear like a stunning development that would surely have fans around the world scratching their heads.
When in fact, it actually makes quite a bit of sense.
For beginners, Scott has previously made it known he does not believe professionals belong in the Olympics. He did not participate in either the 2016 or the 2021 Games, the first two where golf was re-admitted after a 112-year absence from the Olympics.
So that should come as a shock to no one.
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For Koepka and his fellow LIV golfers, the issue is a little more complicated.
The top two players in the Official World Golf Rankings from each country participating automatically qualify.
Due to LIV Golf’s inability to gain OWGR points, players on the Saudi-backed circuit have plummeted down the rankings.
Koepka is now the ranked 31st in the world, 18th among his countrymen. He was going to have a very slim chance at being named to the team, likely having to win another major at the very least.
The same can be said for Englishman Tyrrell Hatton. Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are the highest ranked players from England, leaving Hatton on the outside looking in.
So it appears as though these golfers are mostly looking to save face.
Nevertheless, fans will miss out on seeing some of the best players in the world in one of the biggest events.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
