The list of notable Olympic Games absentees gained another name this week when Jordan Spieth declined to accept his place in the US team. That means all four top-ranked male players in the world will be sitting out the golf competition – which returns to the Games for the first time in 112 years.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy all previously announced they would miss Rio, together with eighth-ranked Adam Scott and Branden Grace (10th), as well as Louis Oosthuizen and Shane Lowry. The main stated reason is the risk of contracting the Zika virus, although others have also cited a congested schedule (with the US PGA Championship being held earlier than normal this year, from 28 to 31 July) and the controversial format (individual rather than team). That still leaves Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Ricky Fowler and Danny Willett from the top-10, joined by other luminaries including Justin Rose, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Danny Lee and Martin Kaymer and – for the Spanish team – Sergio García and Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Nine of the top-10 ranked women have confirmed their presence: Lydia Ko, Brooke M. Henderson, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson, Sei Young Kim, Amy Yang, Ariya Jutanugram, In Gee Chun and Stacy Lewis. The only one missing is Ha-Na Jang, who didn’t qualify anyway for the strong Korean team. Other top players outside the top-10 who will be teeing up in Brazil include Anna Nordqvist, Minjee Lee, Suzann Pettersen and Charley Hull. Carlota Ciganda and Azahara Muñoz will be representing Spain.
The men’s Olympic tournament runs from 11 to 14 August and the women’s, 17 to 20 August. Sixty players will compete in each competition, representing a total of 40 different countries across both events.
