Jon Rahm and David Puig have qualified to form the Spanish men’s golf team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, whose competition will take place at the famous Le Golf National course between August 1 and 4.
The Basque Jon Rahm, number 9 in the World Ranking, backed by a solid trajectory that distinguishes him as an indisputable reference in any competition, has occupied the best position among the Spaniards within the Olympic Golf Ranking -based in turn on the Official World Golf Ranking- at the conclusion of the qualification period, which has been developed from June 13, 2022 to June 17, 2024.
The second place in the Spanish men’s golf team is occupied by David Puig from Barcelona, who has finished 113th in the Men’s World Ranking, which allows him to occupy one of the 60 Olympic places after meeting a series of requirements and overcoming discards.
The Olympic qualification of David Puig – enrolled in the LIV Golf since 2023, whose tournaments do not score for the World Ranking – has occurred after a spectacular career in recent months, resolved in extremis in his favor after passing the cut at the U.S. Open held this weekend. Had he not made the cut, his place would have been taken by Jorge Campillo from Cáceres.
This action, full of suspense – in the first day he shot a 76 that required an outstanding comeback in the second, with 68 strokes, to reach the final two rounds – culminated several months of hunting and capturing the Olympic goal by participating, with good results, in competitions of other circuits that did generate points before qualifying for the US Open, to make matters worse, through a specific previous tournament for this purpose.
It is a curious circumstance that the two representatives of Spanish golf at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are currently members of LIV Golf, the circuit promoted by the Saudi government.
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Two outstanding sporting achievements
The impressive track record forged by Jon Rahm since he entered professionalism eight years ago has made him an essential reference in golf in particular and Spanish sport as a whole based on his charisma, determination and professionalism.
Jon Rahm, 29, has been at the top of the World Ranking since he broke into the professional ranks in July 2016. Since then, at breakneck speed, he climbed almost immediately to the top positions, even ephemerally occupying the number 1 after winning in July 2020 The Memorial Tournament, the world top regained in 2021 by masterfully winning the US Open.
Spanish amateur champion from cadet to senior categories, with a sports resume adorned by numerous international triumphs and ten victories in the North American University League before entering professionalism, Jon Rahm accumulates since 2017 eight victories on the European Tour – DP World Tour and another twelve on the PGA Tour.
Special mention for his triumphs in two majors, the US Open 2021 and The Masters 2023, as well as for his important contribution in the victory of the European team in the Ryder Cup 2018 and 2023.
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Spectacular final sprint of David Puig
For his part, Barcelona’s David Puig, 22 years old, professional since October 2022, accumulated in his amateur period an interesting career dotted with triumphs – special mention for the Spanish Championships Alevín 2013, Infantil 2015 and U18 2018 – which also includes his contribution to the gold medals harvested in the European Team Championships U18 in 2018 and Absolute in 2022.
His access to professionalism was encouraged by the offer to join LIV Golf’s playing squad, where he made his debut in 2023. The recent third place in the event held in Houston in early June is his best result in the Saudi circuit, while in the Asian Tour he has two victories: International Series Singapore 2023 and Malaysian Open 2024.
It should be noted that David Puig’s presence in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been dramatically materialized in recent months, overcoming the barrier established for participants in the LIV Golf of not scoring in the World Ranking those events belonging to the Saudi circuit.
To fill this important gap, David Puig undertook a tour of other circuits with events that do count for the World Ranking, moving up positions thanks to his excellent performance in three Asian Tour tournaments that have counted for the Olympic Ranking: victory in the Malaysian Open in mid-February; tenth place in the International Series Oman at the end of February and second place in the International Series Macau in mid-March.
This outstanding performance allowed David Puig to overtake Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira, Adrián Otaegui, and Pablo Larrazábal in the Olympic Ranking since February 12, to become the second Spaniard on the list headed by Jon Rahm, among all the Spanish golfers.
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Possible substitutions
Jorge Campillo, Adrián Otaegui, Nacho Elvira and Pablo Larrazábal have occupied the following Spanish places in the Olympic Ranking. Ranked 119th, 124th, 132nd and 137th respectively in the World Ranking, the four occupy in that order the possible substitutions that could occur between now and the start of the Olympic tournament.
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Spanish women’s team
The official selection of the Spanish women’s team will take place on June 25, following the conclusion of the Olympic qualification period, which runs from June 20, 2020 to June 24, 2024.
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