Bryon DeChambeau has Olympic regret as US Open champ pays ultimate LIV Golf price
Bryson DeChambeau has opened up on his regret at missing out on the 2020 Olympics, as the LIV Golf star prepares to watch the Games from afar once again.
Bryson DeChambeau has expressed his "sad feeling" about missing out on the 2020 Olympics - with history set to repeat itself this month. The LIV Golf star was forced to withdraw from the Olympic Games in Tokyo due to contracting Covid-19 just a week before the commencement of the competition in 2021.
He's since once again missed out becoming an Olympian despite securing his second US Open major title last month. The American finds himself sitting at No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings - a position that sees him trailing behind four fellow countrymen within the ranks needed for Olympic qualification.
Those ahead include current No.1 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele at No.2, Wyndham Clark occupying the No.5 spot, and Collin Morikawa ranked No.6, who were all picked for Team USA ahead of the two-time major champion, reports the Mirror.
Compounding his woes is DeChambeau's affiliation with the LIV Golf series, which isn't recognised by the OWGR, dashing any hopes he had of making it onto Team USA for Paris 2024. Yet, DeChambeau's situation doesn't extend across the board; several other LIV Golf athletes like Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann, and Mito Pereira are still taking part in the Games despite their ties to the Saudi-backed circuit.
Ahead of the UK LIV Golf event, the 30-year-old opened up to reporters about his disappointment over not participating in Tokyo and missing out on another opportunity to represent his country in Paris. "I had a chance in 2021 [Tokyo Olympics] and didn't get to go because of COVID unfortunately.
"I got it the week before which was unfortunate but I still got to go to all the stuff which was really cool but not going there gives me a sad feeling not being there for 2021," he explained.
He shared his thoughts on the potential of a play-off for entering the Olympics, as he said: "From this year it's a little different, obviously the whole situation between LIV and PGA makes things different so I could foresee something like that happening, there being a tournament, but as it stands right now, I'm excited to watch".
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, DeChambeau voiced his regret at missing the Tokyo Olympics and the aftermath of exiting the PGA Tour, saying: "I'm playing great golf, I'm excited," he said. "[So] yeah... am I frustrated and disappointed? Sure, you can absolutely say that.
"But I made the choices that I made and there's consequences to that and I respect it. Hopefully sooner rather than later we figure that out so in this great game of golf we can get past all that and move forward into showing how awesome this sport really is around the globe."