The UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood has broken into the top 500 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time in his career following his runner up finish at the Delhi Challenge.
The 25-year-old narrowly missed out on becoming the first player representing the UAE to win a Challenge Tour event at Classic Golf & Country Club, finishing just one stroke behind champion John Parry in India.
Although the UAE passport holder was undoubtedly disappointed to miss out on securing a first win on the Challenge Tour after sharing the lead through 54 holes, he can find solace in the fact that the outcome propelled him to a career-high ranking of 432nd in the OWGR.
“It’s great,” Grenville-Wood told Gulf News.
“Obviously, I’ve been paying attention to it a little bit, but I know it’s going to fluctuate. I’m going to keep it going and see where it takes me. If I can get to the top 250 by the end of the year, then we’ve done great.”
Grenville-Wood told Gulf News last month that one of his biggest goals this season was to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris.
While there is still a lot of work to be done in making that dream a reality, his latest surge up the OWGR has pushed him closer than ever to representing the UAE at Le Golf National.
The Olympic field is restricted to 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s competitions, with the International Golf Federation utilising the OWGR to create the Olympic Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility.
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.
Currently the last player to earn a spot in the field is Kalle Samooja of Finland, who is currently ranked 352nd in the OWGR.
With qualification ending on June 17, 2024, Grenville-Wood could well qualify for the quadrennial showpiece if he were to have a strong couple of months.
“To play in the Olympics at a golf course I know very well in Le Golf National would be amazing,” he said.
“It would be so cool.”
His next opportunity to climb further up the OWGR comes this weekend at the Kolkata Challenge, before back-to-back Challenge Tour events in Abu Dhabi next month at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
