Tiger Woods is arguably the best golf player to ever live, yet he has never gotten the chance at a gold medal. He has monumental achievements and is still playing the game, so why is he not at the Olympics?

As one of the most successful professional golfers in history, Tiger Woods has built a legacy that will span generations. However, fans and golf experts may argue that his prime was in the early 2000s where he won an impressive 13 major championships, but since then, his abilities and performances have declined.

Golf first debuted in the early 1900s at the Olympic games, but it did not stick around long. It appeared again at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Tokyo 2020. Golf was featured again in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but yet still no sign of Woods. Fans are questioning why the great has not yet gotten a gold medal opportunity, but it may be too late?

The criteria for qualifying for the Olympics goes off of World Golf Rankings. The qualification is clearly explained by the Olympic Rules and International Golf Federation (IGFgolf), see below:

“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.”

As of now, Woods, age 48, is not even in the top 100 of the rankings, not because of his past dominance, but rather because his performance today does not rank against the new generation of golf stars. Unfortunately for Woods, there are no exceptions to the rule, especially just because one is  not at their prime anymore.

If Golf would have been included in previous Olympic games, there is no doubt Woods would have played as apart of Team USA. From 1997 to 2011, Tiger never fell below the number 3 spot in the World Rankings, which would have secured himself an Olympic spot every single year. The 2012 London Olympics may have been his last chance, but golf was not included in the events. By the time the 2016 Rio Olympics came up, Woods was injured, and back surgery made impossible for him to qualify or play at all for that matter.

Woods came back to show a promising performance in 2020, but due to the pandemic, the Olympics were postponed to 2021, and once again an injury took his chance away.

Fellow golf legend Phil Mickelson is in the same position. With years of unmatched competition and success, Mickelson has yet to be at the Olympics for similar reasons. Age, injury, and opportunity have created many hurdles for them. Even the years they could have qualified, they were no longer performing at that elite level.

The 2028 Los Angles Olympics will hold the golf competitions once again. Some fans are hopeful that Woods will make a comeback and get his gold medal then, but many are also realizing that then again, his chances may have past.