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The Olympic impact of an independent Scotland

The Olympic impact of an independent Scotland

On Thursday, Scots vote to decide if they will break off from the United Kingdom, launching an independent Scotland after hundreds of years under the Union Jack. The impact of such a decision is far-reaching, including impacting the world of golf.

When golf returns to the Olympics in 2016, it will select the 60-player fields for both the men's and women's tournaments based on respective world rankings. However, countries will be limited in the number of players that can represent them in the 72-hole events. A country can send no more than four players, and that's if all four players are ranked inside the top 15 of the world rankings. Outside of the top 15, the two highest-ranked players from a country qualify until the field is filled.

As you might imagine, Scotland is pretty good at golf. In both the men's and women's ranking, Scots rank highly enough to earn a pair of slots in the 60-player field, kicking out players from other countries.

Were Scotland to go independent and the Olympic tournament held today, Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher and Marc Warren would be in the men's draw, kicking out Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines and Adilson da Silva of Brazil. On the women's side, Catriona Matthew and Kylie Walker are in while Fabienne In-Albon and Margarita Ramos would be out.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.