What Rio Olympic golf fields would look like with year-end rankings

Rory McIlroy
0 Comments

The Rio Olympic golf fields won’t be determined until July 2016, but it’s always fun to project.

The men’s and women’s fields are set to include a maximum of 60 players each. Everybody in the top 15 of the world rankings come July 2016 will be eligible, up to four per country.

After that, the fields will be filled by the next highest-ranked players with a maximum of two players per nation.

World golf rankings are made up of a two-year window of players’ results, weighing recent results and bigger tournaments more heavily. Therefore, the rankings in July 2016, from which the Olympic fields will be determined, will mostly include yet-to-be-played tournament results.

Tiger Woods would not make the Olympic golf field if the current, year-end rankings hold. He is No. 32, down from No. 1 one year ago and 17th among Americans. It is his lowest ranking since Nov. 26, 2011.

Woods is the first player to drop outside the top 20 after being year-end No. 1 the previous year. The Official World Golf Ranking debuted in 1986.

Phil Mickelson (No. 14, seventh among Americans), Ernie Els (No. 63, fourth among South Africans) and the British trio of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald would also NOT qualify.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, who turns 51 on Jan. 5, would make it. As would Fiji’s Vijay Singh, barely, as the 57th out of 60 golfers. Singh turns 52 on Feb. 22.

Singh and top-ranked Rory McIlroy are the only players with more than two major championships who would make the field off today’s rankings.

The last player to make the men’s field under today’s rankings would be Colombian Marcelo Rozo, who is No. 366 in the world.

The last player to make the women’s field would be Indian Gauri Monga, who is No. 447. There are 137 South Korean women ranked ahead of Monga.

Brazil is guaranteed at least one spot in the men’s and women’s fields, so the lowest-ranked women’s player is currently Brazilian Miriam Nagl, who is No. 570.

Here’s what the men’s and women’s fields would look like if using the year-end 2014 rankings:

Men
1. Rory McIlroy (IRL)
2. Henrik Stenson (SWE)
3. Adam Scott (AUS)
4. Bubba Watson (USA)
5. Sergio Garcia (ESP)
6. Justin Rose (GBR)
7. Jim Furyk (USA)
8. Jason Day (AUS)
9. Jordan Spieth (USA)
10. Rickie Fowler (USA)
11. Martin Kaymer (GER)
12. Graeme McDowell (IRL)
13. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN)
14. Victor Dubuisson (FRA)
15. Jamie Donaldson (GBR)
16. Joost Luiten (NED)
17. Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
18. Thomas Bjorn (DEN)
19. Thongchai Jaidee (THA)
20. Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP)
21. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
22. Mikko Ilonen (FIN)
23. Alexander Levy (FRA)
24. Francesco Molinari (ITA)
25. Koumei Oda (JPN)
26. Graham Delaet (CAN)
27. Jonas Blixt (SWE)
28. Marcel Siem (GER)
29. Anirban Lahiri (IND)
30. Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
31. Angel Cabrera (ARG)
32. Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN)
33. Brendon de Jonge (ZIM)
34. Bae Song-moon (KOR)
35. Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
36. Edoardo Molinari (ITA)
37. Noh Seung-yul (KOR)
38. David Hearn (CAN)
39. Emiliano Grillo (ARG)
40. Prom Meesawat (THA)
41. Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
42. Carlos Ortiz (MEX)
43. Camilo Villegas (COL)
44. Antonio Lascuna (PHI)
45. Felipe Aguilar (CHI)
46. Liang Wen-chong (CHN)
47. Wu Ashun (CHN)
48. Rashid Khan (IND)
49. Robert-Jan Derksen (NED)
50. Danny Lee (NZL)
51. Angelo Que (PHI)
52. Siddikur Rahman (BAN)
53. Thomas Pieters (BEL)
54. Mark Tullo (CHI)
55. Chan Shih-chang (TPE)
56. Ryan Fox (NZL)
57. Vijay Singh (FIJ)
58. Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)
59. Adison da Silva (BRA)
60. Marcelo Rozo (COL)

Women
1. Inbee Park (KOR)
2. Lydia Ko (NZL)
3. Stacy Lewis (USA)
4. Suzann Pettersen (NOR)
5. Shanshan Feng (CHN)
6. Michelle Wie (USA)
7. So Yeon Ryu (KOR)
8. Hyo-Joo Kim (KOR)
9. Karrie Webb (AUS)
10. Lexi Thompson (USA)
11. Kyu Jung Baek (KOR)
12. Anna Nordqvist (SWE)
13. Cristie Kerr (USA)
14. Azahara Munoz (ESP)
15. Pomanong Phatlum (THA)
16. Catriona Matthew (GBR)
17. Lee-Anne Pace (RSA)
18. Teresa Lu (TPE)
19. Julieta Granada (PAR)
20. Charley Hull (GBR)
21. Shiho Oyama (JPN)
22. Karine Icher (FRA)
23. Carlota Ciganda (ESP)
24. Sakura Yokomine (JPN)
25. Sandra Gal (GER)
26. Caroline Masson (GER)
27. Caroline Hedwall (SWE)
28. Gwladys Nocera (FRA)
29. Line Hansen (DEN)
30. Minjee Lee (AUS)
31. Xiyu Lin (CHN)
32. Yani Tseng (TPE)
33. Mariajo Uribe (COL)
34. Stephanie Meadow (IRL)
35. Onnarin Sattayabanphot (THA)
36. Dewi Schreefel (NED)
37. Stacy Bregman (RSA)
38. Malene Jorgensen (DEN)
39. Giulia Sergas (ITA)
40. Christel Boeljon (NED)
41. Klara Spilkova (CZE)
42. Diana Luna (ITA)
43. Jennifer Rosales (PHI)
44. Brooke Henderson (CAN)
45. Alejandra Llaneza (MEX)
46. Kelly Tan (MAS)
47. Lisa McCloskey (COL)
48. Maria Balikoeva (RUS)
49. Alena Sharp (CAN)
50. Paz Echeverria (CHI)
51. Fabienne In-Albon (SUI)
52. Noora Tamminen (FIN)
53. Minea Blomqvist (FIN)
54. Marianne Skapnord (NOR)
55. Veronica Felilbert (VEN)
56. Christine Wolf (AUT)
57. Chloe Leurquin (BEL)
58. Margarita Ramos (MEX)
59. Gauri Monga (IND)
60. Miriam Nagl (BRA)

Video: Tara Lipinski, Johnny Weir share New Year’s resolutions

2023 French Open men’s singles draw

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz
Getty
1 Comment

The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They meet in Friday’s semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw

IOC board recommends withdrawing International Boxing Association’s recognition

Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Boxing
Getty
0 Comments

The IOC finally ran out of patience with the International Boxing Federation on Wednesday and set a date to terminate its Olympic status this month.

While boxing will still be on the program at the 2024 Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee said its executive board has asked the full membership to withdraw its recognition of the IBA at a special meeting on June 22.

IOC members rarely vote against recommendations from their 15-member board and the IBA’s ouster is likely a formality.

The IOC had already suspended the IBA’s recognition in 2019 over long-standing financial, sports integrity and governance issues. The Olympic body oversaw the boxing competitions itself at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 and will do so again for Paris.

An IOC statement said the boxing body “has failed to fulfil the conditions set by the IOC … for lifting the suspension of the IBA’s recognition.”

The IBA criticized what it called a “truly abhorrent and purely political” decision by the IOC and warned of “retaliatory measures.”

“Now, we are left with no chance but to demand a fair assessment from a competent court,” the boxing body’s Russian president Umar Kremlev said in a statement.

The IOC-IBA standoff has also put boxing’s place at the 2028 Los Angeles Games at risk, though that should now be resolved.

The IOC previously stressed it has no problem with the sport or its athletes — just the IBA and its current president Kremlev, plus financial dependence on Russian state energy firm Gazprom.

In a 24-page report on IBA issues published Wednesday, the IOC concluded “the accumulation of all of these points, and the constant lack of drastic evolution throughout the many years, creates a situation of no-return.”

Olympic boxing’s reputation has been in question for decades. Tensions heightened after boxing officials worldwide ousted long-time IOC member C.K. Wu as their president in 2017 when the organization was known by its French acronym AIBA.

“From a disreputable organization named AIBA governed by someone from the IOC’s upper echelon, we committed to and executed a change in the toxic and corrupt culture that was allowed to fester under the IOC for far too long,” Kremlev said Wednesday in a statement.

National federations then defied IOC warnings in 2018 by electing as their president Gafur Rakhimov, a businessman from Uzbekistan with alleged ties to organized crime and heroin trafficking.

Kremlev’s election to replace Rakhimov in 2020 followed another round of IOC warnings that went unheeded.

Amid the IBA turmoil, a rival organization called World Boxing has attracted initial support from officials in the United States, Switzerland and Britain.

The IBA can still continue to organize its own events and held the men’s world championships last month in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!