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TSN Senior Reporter

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Golf’s return to the Olympic Games is getting closer. In fact, it’s less than 100 days until Rio, where the sport will be played as part of the competition for the first time since 1904.

But what was supposed to be a good news story has been slightly tarnished by the decision of some of the top players to take a pass.

Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Vijay Singh and Miguel Angel Jimenez have all opted out, prompting some rebukes from the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Still, despite those who will be missing, the field for the Games is looking strong.

The players are selected based on the world rankings – the Official World Golf Rankings for men, the Rolex Rankings for women. The fields are comprised of 60 players each. The top 15 players on each ranking list are eligible, up to a maximum of four players per country. After the top 15, the next two players per country are eligible.

If the teams were selected today – they will be finalized in early July– this is how some of the most prominent men’s representatives would look:

Australia: Jason Day, Marc Leishman

Canada: David Hearn, Graham DeLaet

France: Victor Dubuisson, Alex Levy

Ireland: Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy

England: Justin Rose, Danny Willett

South Africa: Branden Grace, Jaco Van Zyl

Spain: Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera Bello

Sweden: Henrik Stenson, David Lingmerth

U.S.: Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson

And the women’s field would include:

Australia: Minjee Lee, Karrie Webb

Canada: Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp

China: Shanshan Feng; Xiyu Lin

Norway: Suzann Pettersen, Marianne Skarpnord

Spain: Azahara Munoz, Carlota Ciganda

South Korea: Inbee Park, In Gee Chun, Sei Young Kim, Ha-Na Jang

U.S.A.: Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis

So the omission of a few who don’t want to go won’t stain the overall competitiveness of the field. Most of the top players in the world will still be there.

This is the first go-around for golf in more than 100 years, so there are bound to be hiccups. In the early days, there was no classification for the caddies as no other sport has such an assistant. At first, they were lumped in with the horse grooms for the equestrian events. That’s been rectified.

And despite the late completion, the course will be ready and challenging. Gil Hanse has created a wonderful course that some say has the feel of the layouts of the Australian sandbelt.

The format is certainly not the most exciting – a routine four rounds of medal play – but it’s safe and easy to administer for the maiden run.

So, despite the withdrawal of a few, it really shouldn’t ruin the spirit of the many who will go to the Olympics.