The U.S. Open is this week, but the 2024 Olympic golf tournament looms.

Other articles this week: Three players from the 1999 and 2024 US Opens

DUBLIN, Ohio — Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay swapped places in the Official World Golf Rankings last week, but it went unnoticed. Both are ranked in the top 10 in the world and are guaranteed spots in all but one of the major tournaments for the rest of the year and beyond.

Olympic Golf Tournament.

Morikawa moved up from ninth to eighth, one spot above Cantlay, and in position to claim the last of four spots available to Americans in the top 15 in the world rankings.

This week's U.S. Open is the final qualifying tournament to determine the 60 players who will compete in the Olympics in France, with the men's tournament taking place two weeks after the British Open.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele, who won gold in Japan in 2021, are certain to represent the United States at Le Golf National outside Paris.

Defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark is all but certain to play, but depending on the outcome of the second tournament at Pinehurst, several players including Cantlay, Max Homa, Brian Harman, Sahith Teegala and Keegan Bradley could replace Morikawa, who moved up one place in the OWGR after finishing second on Sunday at the Memorial.

“Cantlay's right behind me,” Morikawa said at Muirfield Village. “I think there's still six, seven, eight guys out there. I think it's going to be a lot of flux. I knew where I was a couple of months ago and I knew I had to play good golf, and I've been playing good golf to be in the running to win. The next few weeks are going to be important and I know what's at stake.”

Morikawa, ranked eighth in the world before the Memorial, is currently seventh but was outside the top 20 just before the Masters, where he tied for third. Finishes including a tie for ninth at the RBC Heritage, a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship and a fourth-place finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge contributed to his victory.

Cantlay has not been in good form recently, finishing tied for 53rd at the PGA and missing the cut at the Memorial.

The Olympic format will feature two players per country based on the Official World Golf Rankings. The top 15 qualify, and any country beyond the top 15 may enter a maximum of two players. The Official Olympic Rankings are updated every Monday after the tournament and can be found here.

And it looks like a good tournament, with Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Norway's Viktor Hovland, Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, South Korea's Tom Kim and Ben Ang, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, Spain's Jon Rahm and David Puig, Canada's Nick Taylor and Corey Connors, Australia's Jason Day and Ming Woo Lee, Chile's Joaquin Niemann and Italy's Matteo Manassero all expected to participate.

But that could all change a lot this week: The Canadians face stiff competition and Puig will likely need to qualify through the U.S. Open to stay in the mix.

There's still a chance some players could withdraw, and there could be more action this week given the uncertainty surrounding major championships.

“There were other tournaments I had to play in, like the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup,” Morikawa said. “I'm on the inside of the six. I have more to think about, but I have to be mentally strong enough not to worry about that when I tee off.”

Tiger and the US Open

Tiger Woods will play in the U.S. Open for the first time since 2020, but this time it will be on the second hole at Pinehurst. Woods tied for third in 1999 and finished second in 2005. Ten years ago, Woods missed the tournament because he was recovering from his first microdiscectomy. Woods has had four surgeries on his back, most recently just months after missing the cut at Winged Foot four years ago.

Woods is still battling back issues and, of course, issues from a lower right leg injury sustained in a car accident in 2021. Attention will again be on how he looks this week, but Woods had the same issue a month ago when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship, with a relative lack of sharpness to blame for his loss.

Collin Morikawa recently took part in a clinic as part of Woods' Tiger Jam fundraiser in Las Vegas, where the two-time major champion got to see up close the skills that Woods still has.

“He was teasing me about not being able to hit a draw, so I hit a draw, about five yards,” Morikawa said. “And then he hit a hook. I'm sure he was aiming about three feet from the line of the guy to his right. His technique and feel are still there, so you wouldn't know (that he has physical issues), but when you put 18 holes, 72 holes and a week of preparation together, you can tell he's been through a lot.”

Woods was given a special exemption to play in the U.S. Open after not having an exemption into a major tournament for the first time since the 1996 PGA Championship. Woods, a nine-time U.S. Golf Championship winner, has won the U.S. Open three times. Woods arrived at Pinehurst on Sunday to begin his preparations.

On Tuesday, he will receive the USGA's Bob Jones Award, the organization's highest honor given for “contributions to sportsmanship and the long-standing traditions of golf.”

Miller will receive the award in 2023 and past recipients include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Mickey Wright and Annika Sorenstam. The award dates back to 1955 when it was first presented to Francis Ouimet.

Interesting Jon Rahm Sponsorship…And Other Notes

Last year, Jon Rahm signed a sponsorship deal with tequila giant Maestro Dobell. Rahm made even more headlines last week when it was announced that Maestro Dobell would also sponsor his Legion XIIII LIV golf team. This move is interesting because Maestro Dobell also sponsors the PGA Tour.

Lahm's contract with the team was described as a multi-year “alliance”. Sports Business Journal He is reportedly worth in the high seven figures per year. Rahm has signed as a brand ambassador for the company in early 2023.

Maestro Dobell has been an “Official Marketing Partner” of the PGA Tour since 2021, and so far that has remained the case. Since LIV Golf debuted in 2022, there has been little sponsorship overlap between the two, and PGA Tour sponsors have been encouraged to refrain from doing business with LIV Golf.

And then some

At the Memorial Tournament, Folds of Honor officially launched a new program to recognize military families in the tournament area. Each event will award 13 local families with Folds of Honor scholarships. The program is called “Folds of Honor Friday” and will feature the playing of the national anthem at certain points throughout the day, depending on the event. The program will be implemented at participating PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions events.

The program was announced during the second round of the Memorial, and spectators are encouraged to wear red, white and blue during the tournament, with ribbons and pins provided on-site. Folds of Honor was founded by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, an F-16 pilot and PGA golf professional. Folds of Honor provides educational scholarships to children and spouses of military and emergency responders killed or disabled in action. Since its founding in 2007, it has awarded more than 52,000 scholarships valued at approximately $244 million.

Scottie SchaefflerThe victory at the Memorial was his fifth in eight appearances. Arnold Palmer Scheffler played in the 1962 U.S. Open and won five PGA Tour events in one season, winning the Masters, the Players and three Signature events. Tiger Woods The only player to win The Players, Masters, Arnold Palmer Invitational Championship and Memorial in the same year, Woods accomplished this in 2001. Adam Scott He ended up competing in the U.S. Open, extending his streak of consecutive major championship wins to 92. Only 18 players in history have played in 100 major championships. Jack NicklausAt 146, Scott is the only player with more than 100 consecutive starts. Scott will sit out the British Open and next year's Masters, but he should be able to qualify for the PGA by finishing at least in the top 100 in the OWGR. If healthy, this will be his 95th consecutive start. … His third-place finish at the Memorial… Adam Hadwin The British Open earned Woods the tournament's only exemption through the Open Qualifying Series. The spot at Royal Troon goes to the highest-ranked player among those without an exemption. … The PGA of America is still waiting for a decision on whether Woods will serve as captain and CEO of the U.S. Ryder Cup. Seth Waugh He said he has a yet-to-be-disclosed alternative plan in case Woods declines, but one thing he won't do is offer Woods the job at both Bethpage Black in 2025 and Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027. Some have suggested Woods should be given the next two jobs and let the vice-captain and new Ryder Cup manager rely on him. John Wood“Let's see him do it first,” Waugh said.