The International Golf Federation (IGF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced a readjustment of the qualification system for the Tokyo 2020 Games in order to adapt it to the new dates of competition in 2021.

Tokyo 2020: qualifications extended due to postponement of one year

© Jim WATSON

Following the postponement of the Games for one year, athletes will be able to accumulate points in the Olympic Golf Ranking (OGR) until June 21, 2021 for men and until June 28, 2021 for women. The qualification period started on 1er July 2018 and it was expected, before the postponement, that it will end this year in June. The male and female tournaments will be played by 60 players each.

The OGR is based on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for men and the World Women's Golf Ranking (WWGR) for women. On March 20, the boards of directors of the OWGR and WWGR decided to suspend the classifications due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The resumption of each classification will be announced in due course.

This announcement to extend the IGF follows the IOC's decision to postpone the Olympic Games and the subsequent publication on April 2 of a review of the qualification principles, which provides for the relaxation of the maximum period of two years and readjustment of qualification periods. IGF reviewed the dates of the current qualification system and submitted the revised version to the IOC Qualification Working Group for approval.

"After receiving confirmation by the IOC of the dates for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the qualifying principles, the most fair and equitable way to determine the qualified athletes was to readjust the original system by setting these new dates," said Antony Scanlon, IGF executive director. “We are delighted that the IOC quickly adopted these changes in order to clarify this important issue. The IGF will continue to work closely with the IOC and Tokyo 2020 to address other implications of the postponement of the Olympic Games for our sport and our athletes, with a view to developing the necessary plans to address them. We remain firmly committed to ensuring safe and fair golf competitions and an unforgettable experience for our athletes during these Olympic Games in 2021 ”.

OGR points are calculated as follows: each tournament is classified according to the level of participants, which determines the number of points awarded to the best players. They get points based on the position in which they finish each tournament. According to the distribution table approved by the IGF, the good results obtained in tournaments where the level is the highest allows to gain more points.

With the review, each player accumulates points in the leaderboard for a renewable period of several years, during which 100% of the points obtained in the last 13 weeks are taken into account. Beyond this recent 13-week period, points are devalued by 1,1% for each of the previous 91 weeks (during which the ranking was not suspended), until they disappear completely from the l player history. Players are ranked based on their point average, which is calculated by dividing the total number of points earned by the number of tournaments they have participated in during that time period. In the case of the female OGR, the minimum divisor is 35 tournaments, while a minimum divisor of 40 tournaments and a maximum divisor of 52 tournaments are applied for the male OGR.

In the event of a tie in the classification for one of the 60 qualification places, the following criteria will be applied to decide between the players, in this order:

  • The total of the points in the official world ranking obtained during the last 52 weeks, i.e. the OGR decided on Monday June 21, 2021 for men and Monday June 28, 2021 for women.
  • The total of the points in the official world ranking obtained during the last 13 weeks, i.e. the OGR decided on Monday June 21, 2021 for men and Monday June 28, 2021 for women.

The first 15 players at the end of the qualification period will obtain their ticket to the Olympic Games, with a quota of four players per country. Beyond the 15e place, the qualification will be based on the position in the world ranking, with a maximum of two qualifying players for each country with no more than two players among the top 15. A place is reserved for the host country and for each of the five continental regions.