Golf’s number 3 player Jordan Spieth will not participate in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, citing “health reasons.”
International Golf Federation President Peter Dawson announced the decision on Monday. Spieth had until midnight Monday in Scotland to make a decision, the Associated Press reported.
By withdrawing, Spieth becomes the fourth top-ranked golf player to pull out from the 2016 Olympics. The others, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, withdrew citing the Zika virus. The Zika outbreak has hit Brazil worse than any other country, leading some athletes to decline to compete in the 2016 games.
Spieth was excited about competing in the Olympics until about a month ago, when he grew concerned over the Zika virus and security threats in Rio, according to the AP.
The U.S. still has four golfers who will participate in the Rio games, the most of any country competing. Bubba Watson, Rickie Folwer, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar, who replaced Spieth, will represent the U.S. during the games.
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