Scottie Scheffler clash with Jon Rahm after LIV Golf star's Olympic demand

Scottie Scheffler, one of the four American stars competing at this week's golf event at Le Golf National, has voiced his support for the continuation of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as the qualification process for the men's Olympic golf event. This comes despite Jon Rahm's calls for change.

Scheffler, along with Xander Schauffele, Colin Morikawa, and Wyndham Clark, are all part of Team USA , the only squad with four players in action. Their participation is due to their top-10 world ranking, which automatically qualifies them for the tournament.

The decision to base the event's field on the OWGR list has been met with criticism , particularly in light of LIV Golf's ongoing issue with the rankings. Several high-profile players have seen their rankings drop due to LIV events proceeding without OWGR points being awarded.

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This has resulted in players like Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, and Brooks Koepka missing out this week. However, Scheffler believes that the rankings provide a fair method of team selection, as opposed to a selection committee process.

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"I mean, I think it's nice having a pretty standard rating system for how you can choose the team," he commented after Thursday's opening round.

"I think it gets a little bit objective when you have a selection committee choosing teams. Most of our team events, you have guys that can qualify automatically and there are some that are chosen. We had tournaments in amateur golf where the whole team was chosen at times."

"I'm a fan of having a standard system where you know where you stand in terms of getting in like it is now. If there is a committee that would decide the last couple spots, but also it's so challenging being in the United States getting on the team. You get four guys because we are all Top 15 in the world and it's still by far the hardest team to make."

"If we can bring all of our best players, the field for this tournament would look a lot different and I'm sure we would have a better chance of taking home more medals but it's hard to choose the best four every year."

Scheffler's LIV rival Rahm is one of the players in action in Paris who is in favor of a selection process per each nation.

He is in action alongside fellow LIV star David Puig, with the pair representing Spain. "Allow the countries to pick themselves," Rahm stated ahead of the event.

"There needs to be some guidelines, but Team USA basketball has freedom to choose whoever they want. I understand it's a different circumstance, but I think you need to let each country choose who they want to play."

Rahm and Scheffler are both tied in sixth following their opening round in Paris on Thursday, both carding a four-under-par 67 on day one.