Taylor, Hadwin have inside track for Canadian Olympic spots ahead of U.S. Open
Published
With August's Summer Olympics in Paris quickly approaching, Canada is getting a better idea of who will represent the nation in men's golf.
The two highest Canadian golfers on the Official World Golf Ranking following this week's U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C. will wear the Red and White in France.
Winnipeg's Nick Taylor and Moose Jaw's Adam Hadwin currently have the inside track to make that happen.
After winning the Canadian Open last season, Taylor, 36, won the WM Phoenix Open in February and has earned three top-10 finishes to sit in the 32nd spot in the world rankings, the highest of all the Canadians.
Hadwin, 36, jumped up 24 spots this past week to No. 35 after finishing third at the Memorial Tournament behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa. Hadwin hasn't won on the PGA Tour this season, but has five top-10 finishes in 16 events played.
Corey Conners, a 32-year-old from Listowel, Ont., is within striking distance as he is ranked 46th in the world. Conners has just one top-10 finish in 16 events played in 2024.
Richmond Hill, Ont.'s Taylor Pendrith (65th), Hamilton's Mackenzie Hughes (66th) and Surrey, B.C.'s Adam Svensson (89th) could be on the outside looking in when it comes to Canadian Olympic qualification.
Conners and Hughes represented Canada at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, finishing 13th and 50th, respectively, behind American Xander Schauffele, who won the gold medal.
American Nelly Korda captured gold on the women's side as Brooke Henderson finished in a tie for 29th as the top Canadian.
Golf at the 2024 Olympics will run from from Aug. 1 to Aug. 4 for the men and Aug. 7 to Aug. 10 for the women, both taking place at Golf National, one of Europe's top courses.