Olympics beckon Anirban Lahiri

Edited by Anand Datla

March 31, 2015: A total of 12 Asian Tour members plus five other Asian golfers will qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro if the qualifying cut-off was made this week.

Based on the Official World Golf Ranking where 60 players will qualify for the Olympics next year, current Asian Tour number one Anirban Lahiri, currently ranked 33rd in the world, looks poised to spearhead the region’s challenge. Lahiri is currently ranked 16th on the Olympic rankings, thanks largely to two victories on the Asian Tour in February.

Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, a three-time Asian Tour number one, will also be on the flight to Rio as he is presently ranked 43rd in the world rankings and 21st in the Olympic rankings.

Other Asian Tour members who are currently in the top-60 frame include Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand (38th), India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia (44th), Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna (48th), Asian Tour honorary member Vijay Singh of Fiji (51st), China’s Liang Wen-chong (52nd), Filipino Angelo Que (55th), Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman (57th), Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang (58th), Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva (59th) and Malaysian Danny Chia (60th).

Chia replaced countryman Arie Irawan in the top-60 list thanks to his recent tied third finish at the Asian Development Tour’s PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship. He is ranked 360th in the world, two spots higher than Arie, who is currently second on the ADT Order of Merit.

The other Asians who are on track to qualify for the Olympics include Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Koumei Oda, who represented Asia in the inaugural EurAsia Cup last year, Korea’s Sangmoon Bae and Seungyul Noh and China’s Li Hao-tong.

Bae and Noh, both playing now on the PGA Tour, are multiple winners on the Asian Tour. In total, nine Asian countries – Japan, Thailand, India, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh, Phillippines, Malaysia and China – would be represented in Rio if the qualifying cut off was made this week.

The International Golf Federation proposed to the IOC of a 72-hole individual stroke play competition for both men and women reflecting leading players’ opinion of the fairest and best way to identify an Olympic champion. In the event of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff will determine the medal winner(s).

The IOC has restricted the IGF to an Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s competition. The IGF will utilise the official world golf rankings to create the Olympic golf rankings as a method of determining eligibility.

The top-15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top-15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.

The qualifying cut off for the Olympics is July 16, 2016.