A “frustrated” US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau has decried the Olympic selection criteria after missing out on the American team.
DeChambeau is enjoying a return to top form this year, having finished tied for sixth at The Masters and runner-up at the PGA Championship prior to his US Open triumph on Monday.
While he can’t accrue world ranking points at LIV Golf, his performances at this year’s majors have seen him rise to No.10 – one of the few LIV stars to actually improve on the list.
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But despite his stellar form he failed to make America’s Olympics team for next month’s trip to Paris.
The US gets four sports in the men’s draw, but criteria states they must be offered to the best-ranked golfers at time of selection.
It means America will be represented by Scottie Scheffler (world No.1), Xander Schauffele (No.3), Wyndham Clark (No.5) and Collin Morikawa (No. 7).
The farcical nature of the system is laid bare when Clark’s form is put next to DeChambeau’s.
Clark – last year’s US Open winner – missed the cut at the first two majors this year and then finished tied for 56th at Pinehurst on Monday.
DeChambeau admits he wanted to head to Paris with the team.
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“I would love to represent the United States,” DeChambeau told The Pat McAfee Show after Monday’s victory.
“It was tough for me not to go last time around because of COVID, just one of those things that happened.
“Hopefully one day this game of golf will get figured out and come back together, and I’ll be able to play.
“I’m playing great golf. I’m excited.
“Am I frustrated and disappointed? Sure, you could absolutely say that, but I made the choices that I made and there’s consequences to that and I respect it.
“But hopefully it’s sooner rather than later we figure that out so this great game of golf, we can get past all of that and move forward into showing how awesome this sport actually is around the globe.”
The split between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is supposedly closing but the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) still refuse to recognise the breakaway Saudi league.
Australia’s Cameron Smith is another LIV defector cruelled by the system.
Smith was world No.2 when he jumped ship to LIV in late 2022, and has since fallen down the world rankings.
Australia will be represented in the men’s Olympics draw by Jason Day and Min Woo Lee.