He called it “the most difficult decision of his life”. Jordan Spieth cited health reasons as the overriding factor for his withdrawal from the United States golf team for the Rio Olympics. He said he made the decision for himself and those around him and for his future. Coca Cola, who signed Spieth to a sponsorship contract in January, will now use a golfer’s silhouette instead of his image on their products during the Games.

With the Games opening on August 5th the tally of golfers who have withdrawn from the Games now reaches 20. Apart from fears over the spread of zika virus, security issues are also high on the list. Golfers fear there will be inadequate police protection. News from Reuters within the past hour says that a terrorist cell of 10 people have been arrested in Brazil over fears of a possible incident at the Games.

So the golfers who will not be representing their countries at Rio are: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Charl Schwartzel, Marc Leishman, KT Kim, Graeme McDowel, Hideto Tanahara, Victor Dubisson, Matt Jones, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Vijay Singh, Brendon De Jonge, Angelo Que, Tim Wilkinson.

New Open Champion Henrik Stenson will be representing Sweden at the Olympic Games. He says “it will be an experience of a lifetime. If I compete well then I will be happy and so will my country”.