Tokyo Olympics 'Golf Tickets'... "Based on World Rankings as of June Next Year~"

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Based on the world rankings in June next year."

This is about the 'golf ticket' for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in Japan. The International Golf Federation (IGF) announced on the 30th (Korean time) that "due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the qualification criteria for the golf event at the Tokyo Olympics, postponed by one year, will be based on the men's world rankings as of June 21 next year, and the women's as of June 28." Each country can send 2 players, with a maximum of 4 players if they are within the top 15 in the world rankings. Korean women and American men’s golf teams are representative examples.

Six Korean women are ranked within the top 15. Starting with No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25), followed by No. 3 Park Sung-hyun (27), No. 6 Kim Sei-young (27, Mirae Asset), No. 10 Lee Jeong-eun 6 (24, Daebang Construction), No. 11 Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group, photo), and No. 13 Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte). Park In-bee is notably the gold medalist from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. There is still an opportunity to improve world rankings and secure a ticket. The historic achievement of 'back-to-back Olympic gold medals' awaits.

The situation is similar for American men. No. 3 Brooks Koepka, No. 4 Justin Thomas, No. 5 Dustin Johnson, tied No. 7 Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay, No. 9 Webb Simpson, and No. 11 is the 'returning golf emperor' Tiger Woods. It is interesting that Woods is aiming for a gold medal. This is because he is pursuing a 'career golden slam' by adding an Olympic gold medal to four different major championships. He expressed determination, saying, "Considering my age, it will be difficult to seize an opportunity at the 2024 Paris Olympics in France."

Golf was officially included as an event for the first time in 112 years since the 1904 St. Louis Olympics in the United States during the Rio Olympics. This makes Park In-bee’s gold medal even more valuable. She set a new milestone called the 'career golden slam.' Tennis, which included professional players in the Olympics starting in 1988, saw Steffi Graf (Germany), Andre Agassi (USA), and Rafael Nadal (Spain) consecutively join the 'golden slam club,' but this is the first in the golf world.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.