In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, some professional golfers have questioned the qualifying system due to the fact that some big names have been left at home.

This week, Jon Rahm and Abraham Ancer have suggested that countries should be able to choose their own representatives for the Olympics based on who the country feels gives them the best chance to medal.

While speaking to the media during their pre-tournament press conference, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry defended the current system. One question was specifically about Bryson DeChambeau, who has a major win this year at the U.S. Open, a runner-up at the PGA Championship, and an additional top 10 at The Masters.

Lowry pointed out that other top Americans didn’t qualify either.

“No.[8] in the world is not here, either, for the Americans [Patrick Cantlay]. The American Team is a hard team to make.”

McIlroy added to Lowry’s point.

“Yeah, I think that’s the nature of qualification for the Olympics. I mean, you could have the fifth-best sprinter in the world but if he’s from a certain country, he’s not able to make it.

“So I think it’s just the way that the qualification works in the Olympic Games, and that’s not just in golf. That’s in other disciplines, as well.”

Lowry then continued:

“Like Rory said, you watch other sports, that’s the way it is. If you don’t run the time and don’t qualify, you’re not in. You watch the American nationals, it’s the biggest race of the year, the Jamaican nationals in the sprint. If they run a bad race, even though they might be one of the best in the world, they are not here competing.

“I know we are not used to that in golf; that the biggest events have the best fields. But you know, there are a few players maybe that would make it better, but it’s still the Olympics and we’ve all qualified to play for our country and we’re all here to win a medal.”

Rory then added that LIV players knew what they were getting into when they joined LIV.

“I don’t think there’s any other way to do [Olympic qualification] because it’s hard to compare the golf that they play to the golf that we play. That’s the reason they didn’t get World Ranking points, right.

“So, if you want to qualify for the Olympics, you knew what you had to do. Just like if you wanted to qualify for the Ryder Cup, you knew what you had to do. They were very aware of the decision they made when they did.”

As of now, LIV golfers still do not have a clearly visible path to major championships or Olympic qualification in the future.

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According to Golden Age Auctions, a Gary Player Claret Jug has sold for a staggering $481,068.00.

Golden Age shared that the replica Claret Jug given to players (which is 90% of the original size of the actual Claret Jug) after a victory at the Open Championship, is the only one they’ve ever had up for auction.

“Offered here is Gary Player’s official large (90% scale) 1974 Open Championship Claret Jug. The 1974 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes was one of the most dominating performances of Gary Player’s career, and it resulted in Player’s 3rd Open Championship victory. Gary Player went wire to wire – having at least a share of the lead every round en route to a 4 stroke victory over Peter Oosterhuis and the rest of the field. Conditions were tough that year, and Gary Player was the only golfer under par for the tournament.

The rarity of official large Claret Jugs like this cannot be overstated. Though we’ve had the privilege of offering 7 different Masters Tournament trophies for auction over the years, this is the ONLY official large Claret Jug that we’ve ever brought to auction (we sold this exact trophy once before a few years ago, but have never sold another at auction). To many collectors, an official Claret Jug is unquestionably golf collecting’s Holy Grail.

When Gary Player won his Open Championships, he had to return the permanent Claret Jug after his year as defending Champion had expired. Years later, the Royal & Ancient finally allowed a large scale Claret Jug to be produced for each living Open Champion (only one for each victory), including this trophy. Several of these trophies are currently on display in various museums around the world, including the British Golf Museum in St Andrews. It goes without saying, these official large Claret Jugs simply do not reach the collector market. And not just any trophy, this one comes from one of the greatest golfers of all-time. This trophy was owned and displayed by Gary Player’s golf course design company for years, and they kept current with the engraving of Champions through 2006 – stopping (perhaps intentionally?) after Tiger Woods’ back to back victories in 2005 and 2006.

This official large scale Claret Jug is hallmarked by the R&A’s official trophy producer Nicholas Winton Ltd, and stands 19″ tall.”

Player’s Claret Jug is the most expensive golf item sold since Woods’ “Tiger Slam” irons sold for a record $5,156,162 in 2022.

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As reported by Daily Mail UK, Sky Sports golf commentator, Wayne Riley, is in hot water for comments he made during the Open Championship.

While presenting the gym at Royal Troon, Riley gave a tour of the workout facility including a therapy gun which he used for a shoulder massage.

While using the massage gun, the Australian groaned prior to saying:

“I tell you what, if that could cook and clean, I’d marry it.”

Daily Mail UK reports that Riley was spoken to about the comment.

Sky Sports did not issue a comment on the matter.

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