By: Max Bechtoldt
With the Paris Olympics rapidly approaching, lets take a look at what stands out in the current rankings.
The rankings of course take the top 60 in the Olympic rankings. The Olympic rankings are a form of the Rolex Rankings, with some tweaks. Teams with more than two players in the top 15 may take up to four of those golfers. All of those golfers must be in the top 15 though. Other than that all countries can have up to two players as long as they are in the top 60 of the rankings.
Right now only one country qualifies for more than two players, the United States. As of now the United States could fill all four slots, with No. 1 Lilia Vu, defending gold medalist No. 2 Nelly Korda, No. 13 Megan Khang and No. 14 Allisen Corpuz. Korda would be the only player returning from Tokyo.
Currently, Amy Yang of Korea sits one spot outside of the top 15, which would give Korea three players alongside No. 6 Jin Young Ko and No. 9 Hyo Joo Kim.
The closest other country to getting three players is probably Japan. It would be a stretch to say it is possible, but they do have three players in the top 20. Currently No. 15 Nasa Hataoka and No. 20 Ayaka Furue are in the field. Furue’s recent form leads to belief she could crack the top 15. Yuka Saso is at No. 25 currently, if she has some good finishes in majors, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for her to make it.
Currently 33 players in the 60-golfer-field rank in the top 100 in the world.
