Olympic Games Golf Field Announced as Spieth Withdraws

The full 60 man Olympic field has been announced whilst world number three Jordan Spieth has withdrawn, citing Zika virus concerns

Olympic Games Golf Field Announced as Spieth Withdraws

The 2016 Olympic Games golf tournament field has been announced, and 40 countries will be represented.

World number five Henrik Stenson representing Sweden will be the highest ranked player in Rio after Jordan Spieth announced his withdrawal earlier today.

The world number three Spieth cited the Zika virus for his pull-out. Matt Kuchar will replace him in the US team.

Great Britain will be represented by Danny Willett and Justin Rose, with Padraig Harrington and world number 290 Seamus Power making up Ireland's pair.

Only nine of the world's top 30 are in the field, with the world rankings going down to 321 with Malaysia's Gavin Kyle Green.

None of the world's top four players are included - Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy - with them all withdrawing.

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Peter Dawson, President of the International Golf Federation, said: “After eight years of intense planning and preparation for golf’s historic return to the Olympic Games, the IGF is extremely excited finally to have reached this important milestone of identifying those players who are eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro.

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“We are particularly gratified to see how many countries are represented among the men and women and anticipate compelling competitions for both on the outstanding golf course that Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott have created. It has taken a tremendous amount of work by a number of people to get to this stage, and we at the IGF are extremely grateful for the role each and every one of them has played in making this possible.”

The Olympic Games golf tournament takes place from 11th-14th August for men and 17th-20th for women.