As the golf calendar continues to shake up in major ways, so far, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo are still on. The International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that there’s “no need to make any drastic decisions” at this point regarding the coronavirus. The women’s golf event is slated for Aug. 5-8 at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
If the Olympic teams were fielded off of the current rankings, the most notable name off the list is Inbee Park, who happened to win the last event staged on the LPGA last February in Australia. The 2016 gold-medal winner moved up to No. 11 in the Rolex Rankings and now sits as first alternate behind South Koreans Jin Young Ko, Sung Hyun Park, Sei Young Kim and Eun Jeong Lee6. Neither Ko nor Park have competed in 2020.
The American team would be comprised of Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang and Lexi Thompson. The U.S. needed four players ranked in the top 15 to match the Korean contingent. Jessica Korda, Nelly’s sister, is the first alternate for Team USA. Lizette Salas is the second.
The host country, Japan, would also have three players: Nasa Hataoka, Hinako Shibuno and Ai Suzuki. Both Shibuno and Suzuki won on the LPGA last year but turned down membership to compete on the JLPGA in 2020. Shibuno’s fame exploded last year when she clinched the AIG Women’s British Open in her first LPGA appearance.
Speaking of the WBO, 2018 winner Georgia Hall is currently on the outside looking in for the British team. Charley Hull and Bronte Law now hold the two spots.
The last player in the field of 60 is former Stanford standout Albane Valenzuela, who competed as an amateur in 2016 and tied for 21st. Valenzuela is now a rookie on the LPGA.
The qualification cutoff for the women’s field is June 29, immediately after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Here’s how the Olympic rankings currently stand:
Rank | Name | Rolex Rank | Country |
1 | Jin Young Ko | 1 | KOR |
2 | Nelly Korda | 2 | USA |
3 | Sung Hyun Park | 3 | KOR |
4 | Nasa Hataoka | 4 | JPN |
5 | Danielle Kang | 5 | USA |
6 | Sei Young Kim | 6 | KOR |
7 | Brooke M. Henderson | 7 | CAN |
8 | Minjee Lee | 8 | AUS |
9 | Lexi Thompson | 9 | USA |
10 | Jeong Eun Lee6 | 10 | KOR |
11 | Hinako Shibuno | 12 | JPN |
12 | Ai Suzuki | 14 | JPN |
13 | Carlota Ciganda | 15 | ESP |
14 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 17 | THA |
15 | Hannah Green | 21 | AUS |
16 | Shanshan Feng | 23 | CHN |
17 | Charley Hull | 25 | GBR |
18 | Bronte Law | 34 | GBR |
19 | Yu Liu | 35 | CHN |
20 | Caroline Masson | 36 | GER |
21 | Moriya Jutanugarn | 37 | THA |
22 | Gaby Lopez | 42 | MEX |
23 | Azahara Munoz | 44 | ESP |
24 | Celine Boutier | 45 | FRA |
25 | Lydia Ko | 49 | NZL |
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