Olympics 2024: Race for American spots comes down to the wire

Since the Olympics’ reintroduction of golf at the 2016 Games, the women’s tournament has been a reflection of the dominant country’s success at the time on the LPGA Tour. The two gold medalists, Inbee Park (2016) and Nelly Korda (2020), came from nations that sent four players to the Olympics, an opportunity only allowed if the country has four players within the top 15 of the World Rankings. Otherwise, countries can have up to two players based on their ranking position.

Less than a week away from finalizing the 60-player Olympic field for 2024, no one is yet sending four players, an unfathomable statement at the start of the season.

This week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship marks the last opportunity to secure spots. The United States is the only country that could have four players. Its top three—Korda (No. 1), Lilia Vu (No. 2), and Rose Zhang (No. 9) are all safely in, and then it’s a tight race for four players battling at Sahalee Country Club to get into the potential fourth spot.

The intriguing thing is that the contenders are all playing well. Megan Khang, coming off a T-2 finish in the ShopRite LPGA Classic, is in the best position, placed at 16th. Alison Lee (18th) earned her third top-10 of the season at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic with a T-8. Ally Ewing (19th) had a T-3 in the U.S. Women’s Open, her best career major finish, and followed up in fourth place in the Meijer. Allisen Corpuz (23rd), the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open winner, finished T-5 in the Meijer.

The buildup on Sunday could be dramatic. Four years ago at the Women’s PGA Championship, the final event before the 2020 Olympic field was finalized, Jessica Korda held the fourth American spot at 13th in the world, and she managed a T-15 at Atlanta Athletic Club to hang on at No. 13.

South Korea, the only nation to have four players in each of the last two Olympics, likely will only have two representatives at these games unless someone wins at Sahalee. Jin Young Ko (7th) and Hyo-Joo Kim (12th) hold the two spots, with former World No. 1 Jiyai Shin (24th) and 2023 CME Championship winner Amy Yang (25th) needing to leap into the top 15 for a chance.

Yuka Saso moved from 30th in the rankings to sixth with her U.S. Women’s Open title, securing the first Japanese spot at the games. The second Japanese spot is the most competitive Olympic race on the board. Ayaka Furue (20th), who leads the LPGA with eight top-10 finishes, has a tenuous hold on the position. Six-time winner Nasa Hataoka (21st) and the JLPGA’s Order of Merit leader Miyu Yamashita (22nd) are right behind her. Yamashita primarily plays in Japan but has played well in her two major starts in 2024, finishing T-17 in the Chevron and T-12 in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Hataoka could brutally miss her second Olympics in part due to the first disqualification of her career. After the first round of the ShopRite, she was T-5. The following day, she was notified that she took too long to find her ball on her final hole, resulting in an incorrect scorecard and disqualification.

The Olympic field will be finalized when the Rolex Rankings are released on Monday, June 24th. The Women’s Olympics tournament runs from Aug. 7-10 at Le Golf National outside Paris.