The 2026 Olympics are about to kick off, which means that LA28 is right around the corner. Women’s golf will be returning along with a mixed event with the men’s players, all to be played at the iconic Riviera Country Club. What countries at the moment are best positioned to put together a good group of players? We count them down here:
HM – Spain – At the current moment, Spain’s team looks a bit light, with Carlota Ciganda clearly still being the standout, but there is some room for potential here. Currently, the Stanford duo of Paula Martín Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta are ranked No. 2 and 3 respectively in the WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking) and Julia Lopez Ramirez showed flashes of high potential in 2026. A lot of Spain’s ranking relies on the two amateurs and how soon they will make the jump to the professional ranks.
No. 6 – Thailand – Thailand has Jeeno Thitikul, which is a major advantage when it comes to a tournament that, ultimately, is individual. Thitikul is the best player in the world at the moment and it is hard to imagine a scenario where she isn’t still in 2028. For the second spot, it is tough to project who will be there, but I think Chanettee Wannasaen feels like the best bet at the moment. She is still just 21-years-old and has two LPGA Tour wins. Some more consistency getting into top-10s would really go a long way for her Olympic chances.
No. 5 – Australia – Australia has good depth, which is a big reason why it won the 2025 International Crown. Minjee Lee feels like a safe bet despite her being relatively older for LPGA Tour star standards. She is ranked No. 3 in the world and is coming off one of her best seasons on the LPGA Tour. The player with the best odds to join her is probably Hannah Green, who has played in the last two Olympics. She is still in the top 20 in the world despite a fairly average season in 2025. Other candidates would be major champion Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Gabi Ruffels and potentially a newer player like Cassie Porter, Hira Naveed or Karis Davidson. There are a lot of options.
No. 4 – The United States – It is easy to be down on the United States’ prospects just because this will likely be the first time the country qualifies with only two players. Nelly Korda will be here in all likelihood, barring unforeseen circumstances. She is still ranked No. 2 in the world and clearly the top American. The second spot right now would be occupied by Angel Yin, but the obvious factor is the health of Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang. If one or both of them can get healthy and back in good form, that improves the American stock dramatically. You also have to look at some of the young players like Yana Wilson, Melanie Green and Oregon’s Kiara Romero as high-upside potentials.
No. 3 – England – England may not have the depth to put four players in, but it should have one of the standout duos with Charley Hull and Lottie Woad. England is currently the only country in the world to have two players in the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings, how about that for some trivia? The reality of the Olympics is having two strong players that can compete is a major plus. Hull is coming off arguably her best season on Tour and a more experienced Lottie Woad could be a top three player in the world come 2028 easily. If somehow one of these two players gets jumped and knocked off the team, that just means England has added an additional superstar.
No. 2 – South Korea – Korea certainly has a plethora of high-upside players that could give them three or four competitors in 2028. Hyo Joo Kim, Sei Young Kim and Haeran Ryu would currently be on the roster. Hyo Joo and Sei Young are certainly stable players right now, but with their relative ages, it is hard to project a lot of upside. Ryu should be a stable star though and there’s a lot of depth here. Somi Lee shows a lot of potential, Hye Jin Choi is very consistent, Youmin Hwang is intriguing and you still can’t totally count out Jin Young Ko to make a comeback. The Rolex Rankings is also littered with young players who haven’t yet made the jump to the LPGA Tour, but are dominant on the KLPGA.
No. 1 – Japan – There are going to be some incredible players left off the Japan roster in 2028, a roster that feels increasingly likely to have four players. The big four rookies from 2025 are obvious candidates, Miyu Yamashita, Rio Takeda, Akie Iwai and Chizzy Iwai. Then you have recent major champions like Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo plus consistent mainstay Nasa Hataoka, who is in fantastic form. Every player just mentioned is in the top 31 in the Rolex Rankings and other than maybe Hataoka and Furue, I don’t think we’ve seen nearly the best from them. There’s also so many young, fantastic players on the JLPGA that I wouldn’t be totally shocked if we see four completely different names pop up by the time the Olympics come around.
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