In honor of the olympics, who would represent an amateur golf team?
01 Aug 2024
by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Rachel Kuehn Rankings
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Rachel Kuehn (USGA Photo)
The Paris Olympics are underway, and golfers from all over the world are putting on their country's colors and playing for Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. All of the golfers participating are pros, and most of the top players in the world are teeing it up.
However, some people argue that this would be a great event for amateurs to participate in (me), even if they only leave one spot on each team for an amateur.
As an exercise, if amateurs could play in the Olympics, who would be chosen?
Here are eight golfers who could tee it up for the United States if amateurs could play
Gordon Sargent
Sargent is the easy choice for this team, as he is one of the most experienced and accomplished amateur golfers in the world. He led the United States to a win in the 2023 Walker Cup in Scotland and has played in numerous major championships.
Luke Clanton
It has been the summer of Luke Clanton, the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings, and that would continue in Paris. Clanton has made three cuts on the PGA Tour this season and secured three wins at Florida State this past year.
Jackson Koivun
Koivun is coming off one of the best seasons in the history of collegiate golf, so he would be hard to leave off the team. He won the Jack Nicklaus Award, the Fred Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Award, and the Phil Mickelson Award. Koivun also helped Auburn win its first men’s golf national title over Florida State and Luke Clanton.
Koivun becomes the first player to win all four major awards in the same season.
David Ford
Ford is similar to Sargent because he is a veteran and experienced in playing for Team USA in national events. The North Carolina standout has had a phenomenal collegiate career, including clinching the winning point in the 2023 Walker Cup.
Rachel Kuehn
Kuehn graduated from Wake Forest this year, but she is still an amateur and recently won low amateur honors at The Evian Championship. Kuehn has an amateur resume that can rival the best, and she would be an easy addition to head to Paris and lead the women's team.
Megan Schofill
The defending U.S. Women's Amateur champion would have to be on the team, same as the men if Nick Dunlap was not a professional. Schofill also just shared low amateur honors at the U.S. Women's Open and will to defend her U.S. Women's Amateur title next week.
Catherine Park
Park won the Pac-12 individual championship in record fashion, shared low amateur honors at the U.S. Women's Open and has earned a spot on the Curtis Cup team. She would be an easy addition.
Zoe Campos
The UCLA standout won an impressive four times this past season and also has earned one of the first three spots on the Curtis Cup team next month.