Branden Grace has sparked controversy by slamming the Olympic golf qualification system.
South African Grace insisted his LIV Golf colleagues Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen deserve to represent their country in Paris this summer. Players on the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit don’t earn Official World Golf Ranking as their events aren’t sanctioned.
As a result, PGA Tour stars Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen, ranked 40th and 67th respectively, secured South Africa’s two spots. The system has also seen US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau miss out Team USA, with higher-ranked compatriots Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa being selected.
READ MORE: Royal Ascot violence erupts as fight underneath royal box leaves punter bloodied
READ MORE: Tennis world put on notice as Swiss legend Roger Federer makes significant claim
Grace, speaking before LIV Golf Nashville, argued the toss for Burmester and Oosthuizen, who are ranked 114th and 138th in the world. Via the Express, he said: “These are the two guys that should be representing South Africa out there this year.
“Just by what they’ve won, what they’ve played, where they’ve played, how they’ve performed, and not just in the last five months, but probably the last year or so, if not longer. I think that maybe each country should pick or try to get their own solution on how they get the criteria right for guys to qualify, things like that.
“It’s definitely a way forward. But the system at this stage, that’s not very accurate. We all know that. We all talk about it, week-in and week-out, but these should be the two guys probably representing South Africa out there.”
(Image: Getty Images)
As you might imagine, there was hardly any sympathy from fans coming their way. One didn’t hold back as they slammed: “The entitlement by LIV players is disgusting.” A second contested: “Should have thought about that before you jumped ship!”
“Sounds like they should have planned a schedule that would help them qualify. Sucks to be them,” wrote a third, while a fourth commented: “It’s amazing these guys are so upset with this… when they were told this was going to happen if they went to LIV.”
Another fan was tired of the repetition, adding: “Broken record interviews. Same s*** over and over and over. Missing out on things they ALL KNEW they’d miss out on. It’s exhausting.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Oosthuizen’s withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics four years ago, when he had qualified, was also highlighted. He admitted “I’m probably the wrong person to talk to” after Grace’s comments.
“I grew up with the four majors being your main events, and I don’t really see the fit of professional golfers playing golf in the Olympics,” Oosthuizen continued. “Looking back at that, I think it would be a nice thing to have on your CV that you could have represented your country.
“The system is what it is. I think we’re all higher up on the world ranking than we are right now, or we should be. But I hope the boys play well and that they perform well, and it’s still going to be a strong South African team playing.”
Burmester was also more reserved than Grace in his judgement, echoing Oosthuizen’s sentiment of wishing Bezuidenhout and Van Rooyen well and attempting to make light of the situation with some humour.
He said: “Christiaan and Erik are going to do South Africa proud, and they’ve also played some great golf in their own right, which is something. But to comment on that, I think Louis and I definitely look like Olympians, first of all. Just got a really bad paint job.”
“But we’d fit in there, I think, us and the swimmers and the 100-meter runners. But yeah, it would be an honour obviously to go to the Olympics and represent your country. I think it’s basically the field we have, and those two guys are going to have that opportunity, so it’s super special, and we can only wish them well.”