The American Olympic golf team is set. Sort of. There is a lot that could happen between now and the second week in August when the Olympics start in terms of players pulling out of Rio for a variety of reasons.
But in terms of qualifying, nobody can do anything on the course to surpass the four Americans out in front of qualifying as of July 3.
Part of that is because the Greenbrier Classic was canceled next weekend. Official qualifying ends on July 11th, but the American team will look exactly like it does this week with Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler representing the United States.
No Americans have pulled out yet due to the Zika virus, but Spieth was hedging pretty hard last week at the Bridgestone Invitational.
"Right now I'm uncertain," said Spieth. "Always been excited about the possible opportunity, but there are quite a few different factors that would turn somebody away from going. It's not just one, there are quite a few factors. I personally have not received enough information that would allow me to make a confident decision either way at this point. It will be as we gather further information, [and] I'll be able to lean one way or the other. When I feel confident on either side, I'll make the choice. I think July 11th is when the teams are picked, I don't think you have to make your decision by then.
"I don't train my whole life ... to play in the Olympics like some of those athletes, but now that it has presented itself, it is something very significant I'd love to be a part of. Do I think I'll be there in four years' time? I'm confident that yes, but also it would be cool to be part of the first one. I just don't have a lot of information yet, and I will by next week, I think, have a significant amount more."
So that doesn't exactly inspire confidence. The other factor in all of this is that Spieth is sponsored by Coca-Cola, which is one of the big sponsors of the Olympics. There won't necessarily be pressure there for him to be the star, but I'm sure it will at least be a small factor.
But as of right now, the U.S. team will feature its four highest-ranked players in the Official World Golf Rankings. Johnson is No. 2. Spieth is No. 3. Watson is No. 5. Fowler is No. 7. If any of those four players pull out, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar and Brooks Koepka would be next in line to replace them.
