Italy, four towards the Olympics in Paris 2024

Returning to the forefront between a concluded men’s Major (the Masters) and an upcoming women’s Major (the Chevron Championship) is the discussion surrounding Italy’s prospects for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The world rankings, crucial for qualification, will see the Olympic race conclude on June 17 for men and June 24 for women, following the US Open and the Women’s PGA Championship respectively.

Olympics, results

It’s essential to remember the rules of engagement, applicable in both scenarios: within the top 15 positions, nations can field up to 4 players, while beyond this quota, it decreases to 2. Presently, only the United States (4) for both men and women and South Korea (3) for women benefit from this situation. For all others, it’s limited to two entries. There are 60 available spots in both the men’s and women’s fields, without any cuts.

Although the IGF, the world federation, primarily useful for regulating Olympic qualification based on the OWGR and WWGR (the two rankings), has updated its website only until April 8, it’s possible to provide the latest update up to yesterday.

Specifically, in the context of Italian male golfers, Matteo Manassero remains steady at 173rd place, securing his pass to Le Golf National without major hurdles. The competition for the second ticket is tighter, with Guido Migliozzi at 255th and Francesco Molinari at 263rd, which currently places them comfortably within the top 50 of Olympic qualification, well above the “cut-off” (which is Kalle Samooja at 355th). These high limits are due to the overwhelming presence of Americans (and Britons) in the global rankings, a factor that also applies to the women’s rankings (here, the group of Asian countries is added).

As for the women, the Rolex Rankings currently favor Alessandra Fanali, whose 192nd place would currently ensure qualification. On the other hand, Virginia Elena Carta, currently in the 60th and last available spot due to her 307th position in the global rankings, needs to be cautious. This is due to being overtaken by the Finnish player Ursula Wikstrom, currently at 306th place. In short, Carta will need a significant result. Currently, the closest Italian golfer to challenge for Olympic qualification alongside them is Roberta Liti, competing on the American circuits and narrowly missing out on the Chevron Championship.