TROON, Scotland – Jordan Spieth withdrew from the Olympics on Monday, leaving golf without its top four players when the sport returns to the games for the first time since 1904.

The decision was announced by International Golf Federation President Peter Dawson.

Spieth was the last player to say he was not going to Rio, telling the IGF it was for “health reasons.” Spieth was practicing at Royal Troon during the IGF news conference and was not expected to speak until Tuesday.

Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy previously withdrew, all citing the Zika virus. Day and Johnson have said they plan on having more children, while McIlroy is engaged and said he would soon be starting a family.

Golf still has eight of the top 15 players in the world competing in Rio, though losing the top four could be a big setback in its bid to stay in the Olympic program. It is assured of being part of the Tokyo Games in 2020, but the International Olympic Committee votes next year to decide whether it stays beyond that.

Spieth was replaced by Matt Kuchar, who narrowly reached No. 15 in the world two weeks ago with a tie for third in the Bridgestone Invitational.

Spieth was enthusiastic about the Olympics until about a month ago, when he started to mention security, Zika and other concerns. Spieth was said to be struggling with his decision until Monday.

In the foreword to a book celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the oldest championship in golf, Arnold Palmer refers to the event as “The Open Championship.” In his autobiography, Palmer refers to the major he won twice as the “British Open.”

So which is it?

That depends on the source. And it depends on the audience.

The Open Championship began in 1860 when Willie Park Sr. defeated seven other golfers at Prestwick. It was 35 years until another big championship came along at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island known as the U.S. Open. That was followed by the Canadian Open, the South African Open and the Australian Open.

When the “British Open” began is a little more unclear.

According to an Associated Press account in 1900, J.H. Taylor “won the open golf championship” at St. Andrews. Two paragraphs later, however, the story noted that Taylor scored “his third triumph in the English championships,” even though it was held in Scotland.

In 1910, the AP reported from St. Andrews that “the open golf championship tournament” ended in victory for James Braid. Just four years later, however, an AP story in The Los Angeles Times said that Harry Vardon won for the sixth time “the British open golf championship.”

The R&A has never referred to it as anything but The Open Championship, and it recent years it has made a stronger case for the name of golf’s oldest major to go by one name – the proper name – in any country.

The USGA in its official U.S. Open entry form for years noted that players were exempt from qualifying if they had won the British Open in the last five years. This year, the language was changed to refer to a five-year exemption for winning “The Open conducted by the R&A.”

William McGirt, headed over to Scotland for the first time, said he received a packet in the mail reminding players that it’s called The Open Championship.

“I’m sure I’ll call it the British Open and get pounded for it,” McGirt said. “But hey, it’s in Britain.”

The R&A has never referred to its premier championship as anything but “The Open.” It just happens to be held on links courses in Britain, with an exception in 1951 at Portrush in Northern Ireland, where it will return in three years.

“The name of the championship hasn’t changed in 155 years,” said Malcolm Booth, communications director for the R&A. “The reason we think 155 years on there is legitimacy in calling it ‘The Open Championship’ is it really was the birthplace of open competition.”

It was the first. It was the original. It was the template. It is The Open.

But not to Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus was asked in late February about how he decided which sons would caddie for him in the majors. He recalled one year when Jackie, his oldest son, caddied in the Masters and “I think he had the Open.” And then he mentioned his second-oldest son, Steve, had “the British Open and the PGA.”

The British Open?

“That’s what it is,” Nicklaus said.

Has he ever referred to the major he won three times The Open?

“Sure, when I’m over there,” he said. “Over here, people don’t know what The Open Championship is. It’s ‘The Open Championship of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.’ If it’s The Open Championship, it could be the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the Japanese Open.”

That’s where the R&A might beg to differ.

When championship golf began in 1860, the golfing world was defined by Scotland. The Open was not held anywhere else until it went to Royal St. George’s in England in 1894, one year before the U.S. Open began.

“We don’t consider ourselves a national championship,” Booth said. “The Open remit is to identify the champion golfer of the year.”

Three years ago, that champion golfer was Phil Mickelson, who grew up in San Diego referring to it as “the British.”

“Now that I’ve won it, and the R&A strongly prefers it to be called just ‘The Open’ or ‘The Open Championship,’ I try hard to call it that,” Mickelson said. “But it’s not comfortable to me because it’s not what I referred to it as growing up in the United States.”

He’s not alone. And it’s not just Americans.

Russell Knox of Scotland says he goes by British Open, though he has been in Florida the last 15 years. Branden Grace of South Africa grew up calling it the British Open. So did Jason Day of Australia.

Adam Scott, however, was adamant that it is The Open and nothing else. That national championship in his home country? The Australian Open.

“I understand that when you say the ‘British Open’ you mean ‘The Open Championship,'” Scott said. “When you call it the ‘Open’ and you mean the U.S. Open, then I’m confused. Because that’s called the United States Open.”

Jim Furyk simply goes by the calendar.

A runner-up at Oakmont last month, he said people came up to him at the Bridgestone Invitational and congratulated him for his performance at the “Open” and it stopped him. His mind already was on the next Open, the one at Royal Troon that starts next week.

“If I were ever lucky enough to win the claret jug, I would definitely call it ‘The Open’ to show respect,” he said. “But when I’m not thinking about it, then it comes out as ‘British Open’ because that’s the way I grew up hearing it.

“And,” he added with a smile, “I might have fun with some folks when I know it will rub them the wrong way, just to watch them cringe.”

DALLAS — U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson is withdrawing from the Olympics because he is concerned about the Zika virus.

Johnson becomes the 13th player to pull out of the field for the Rio Games, where golf makes its return after a 112-year absence. Patrick Reed is expected to replace him.

Johnson released a statement through one of his representatives on Friday.

Johnson and his wife, Paulina, plan to have more children “in the near future,” according to the golfer, and he feels it would be irresponsible to put his family at risk. The Zika virus can cause severe birth defects and babies being born with abnormally small heads.

Seven other players who have pulled out specifically cited Zika, including world No. 1 Jason Day and world No. 4 Rory McIlroy.

Johnson and Day are both playing the RBC Canadian Open this July.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – There is very little separating the top two women’s golfers in the world in Lydia Ko and Canada’s Brooke Henderson.

The two teenage sensations have won the past three majors heading into this week’s U.S. Women’s Open with the 19-year-old Ko taking two and the 18-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., following last month with a thrilling playoff victory over Ko in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington that could set the stage for a heated rivalry for years to come.

Fittingly, the two will be together when this year’s third major starts at the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle on Thursday, less than 100 miles south of San Francisco. Ko and Henderson will play the first two rounds with 21-year-old Lexi Thompson, who is ranked fourth in the world, in the marquee group of the tournament.

“It’s great to watch them both on the golf course and their attitudes and just their demeanours on the golf course,” Thompson said. “They’re aggressive players, and just consistent overall. You can’t really even find a weakness in their game, and that’s why they’re so good.”

The top three ranked players in the tournament – third-ranked Inbee Park will miss the Open because of a thumb injury – will face stiff competition in the 156-player field that includes nine previous champions, including last year’s winner, In Gee Chun.

Other winners include Michelle Wie (2014), Na Yeon Choi (2012), Paula Creamer (2010), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), Cristie Kerr (2007), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Karrie Webb (2000, 2001) and Se Ri Pak (1998).

This will be the final U.S. tournament for Pak before she plans to retire. Her win at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin 18 years ago helped spark the recent South Korean dominance of the LPGA Tour. Seven of the last 11 winners of the U.S. Open have come from South Korea.

“After I came and after I start winning, I have this great success, everybody was thinking, I can do that,” Pak said. “Giving a lot of confidence, built confidence for them. So they’re here, they make it a dream, they make it possible. So I think I was part of it.”

But when the tournament starts, much of the focus will be on Ko and Henderson, who hope to build off the drama they staged last month when Henderson tracked down Ko in the final round with a long eagle putt and a tough par before winning in a playoff by coolly stuffing her approach into 3 feet.

That gave Henderson her first career major as she tries to match Ko, who had won the previous two with her victory at the ANA Inspiration earlier this year after winning the Evian Championship in 2015.

“Lydia Ko is amazing,” Henderson said. “She’s an inspiration to all of us girls out here, and I think everyone in the world, basically. She’s done amazing things in her career and she’s only a couple months older than I am.”

Henderson followed that up with her third career tour win when she repeated as champion at the Cambia Portland Classic for her third career win and can surpass Ko as the youngest player with two majors with a win this week.

This marks just the third time the U.S. Women’s Open has been played in California and this is the highest-profile event to be played at the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course that opened in 1999. The course, located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, plays as a par 72 over 6,784 yards, although it could be a bit shorter this week depending on tee locations.

The course finishes with a par-5, 528-yard hole that features a water hazard near the green and the possibility of trying to reach the green in two shots for players looking to close a gap on the final day.

The tournament is also the final one to determine who will qualify for the Olympics next month. The top 15 players in the world rankings will all be eligible with a limit of four for any country. South Korea is the only country with more than two players currently in the top 15. The rest of the 60-player field will be determined by world rankings with a limit of two players per country.

Among the players looking to qualify for Rio de Janeiro this week are Webb, who has extended her Hall of Fame career in hopes of making the Olympics. With Minjee Lee having secured one of Australia’s spots, Webb likely must finish at least in the top 10 to have any chance to pass Su Oh for the other.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. — She’s just 18 years old, but Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., will be teeing it up in her fourth U.S. Women’s Open this week at CordeValle Resort.

She’s had some success: she was low amateur in 2014 at Pinehurst and rode a hot weekend to a tie for fifth last year at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa.

Now, as the second-ranked player in the world and coming off her third career win last weekend at the Cambia Portland Classic, where she successfully defended her title, Henderson will be one of the favourites this week.

She will be looking for her second major championship to go with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship she won last month at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle.

“I’ve played really well in U.S. Women’s Open’s, and I played really well in major championships, because you really got to take a little bit of a different strategy,” Henderson said. “You really need to stay patient, which is something that I’ve worked on over the last few years. I’m really excited for this week. 

“I think this course sets up really well for my game. You’ve just got to hit it in the right spots and know where to miss it and then just make lots of birdies. I think the back nine plays a lot tougher than the front nine. I think that’s where a lot of things might change, especially on Sunday afternoon. I really love the par-5s around here. I can get close to them or reach a lot of them in two, which is something that I like to think is an advantage over most of the field that I have.”

Henderson tees off at 5:03 p.m EDT time Thursday in the first round with the tournament’s power group with world No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and No. 4 Lexi Thompson of the USA (world No. 3 Inbee Park is injured).

PORTLAND, Ore. – Defending champion Brooke Henderson survived some tense moments on the back nine on the way to a four-stroke victory Sunday at the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic.

The second-ranked Henderson – a native of Smiths Falls, Ont., – shot a 14-under 274 after a final round 71 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, pulling away from American Stacy Lewis, who was 10-under after a 69.

Henderson became the first back-to-back winner at Portland since Annika Sorenstam won consecutive tournaments in 2002 and 2003. The 18-year-old is the first wire-to-wire winner at Portland since the tournament went to a 72-hole event in 2013.

Henderson is the tour’s second wire-to-wire winner this year, joining Ha Na Jang, who won the Coates Championship in February.

It was Henderson’s third career win, all coming in the Northwest. Aside from her two Portland victories, Henderson won the Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee in Sammamish, Washington, three weeks ago.

Stacy Lewis is winless in 53 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th tour victory. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought and 24 overall.

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, the 2011 and 2013 Portland champion finished third at 9-under after a 72. Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, tied for the lead with seven holes remaining, was 8-under after making double bogeys on her final two holes to shoot 75. Austin Ernst, who won Portland in 2014, was also 8-under after a 73.

Christina Kim posted the low score of the day with a 66 to finish 7-under, as did Lee-Anne Pace, Lee Lopez and Cheyenne Woods. Pace shot 68, while Woods had a 72 for her first career top 10. Lopez, an LPGA rookie, shot 73.

This Portland performance was much different than her runaway victory in 2015, when Henderson rolled to a tournament-record eight-stroke win with a 21-under 267.

Henderson was forced to grind the final two rounds, often having to save pars following wayward drives.

Sunday turned into a two-player race early on the back nine, when Uribe birdied the par-4, 337-yard 11th to tie Henderson for the lead at 14-under.

But Henderson quickly resumed control at the par-5, 546-yard 12th. Uribe hit a poor drive and made bogey, while Henderson dropped a three-foot birdie putt to take a two-shot lead.

The lead melted to one at 13, when Henderson’s tee shot at the 160-yard par-3 went into the bunker and she made bogey. Uribe fell two strokes back at the par-4, 372-yard 15th with a bogey.

The par-4, 397-yard 17th became the tournament’s decisive hole. Henderson and Uribe both drove into a bunker, then blasted their approach shots over the green. But Uribe hit her third shot 50 feet past the hole and made double bogey, while Henderson was able to get up and down to save par, making an eight-foot putt.

Lewis never got closer than three strokes, and might have put some pressure on Henderson but made bogeys at 16 and 18.

Sakura Yokomine (69), Vicky Hurst (71) and Carlota Cignada (73) were eight shots back at 6-under. In-Kyung Kim shot 69 to head a group of five at 5-under.

American Morgan Pressel was 2-under after posting her best round of the week, a 67.

AKRON, Ohio – Dustin Johnson returned from celebrating his U.S. Open victory by taking down the world’s No. 1 player to win another World Golf Championship.

Johnson didn’t miss a beat from Oakmont to Firestone, powering and putting his way to a 4-under 66 on Sunday to win the Bridgestone Invitational for his second straight victory, making him the player to beat heading into the British Open in two weeks.

“This golf course is playing so tough, it’s not like I need to go out and shoot 63,” Johnson said. “You just try to hit it in the fairway and get to get it on the green and try to make some putts. I knew if I shot 4 or 5 under I’d have a chance.”

Jason Day, poised for his first victory in his adopted home state of Ohio, helped make it easy for Johnson.

Day had a one-shot lead when he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 15th hole, and then collapsed with a series of bad shots and bad choices. He tried to play it safe off the tee on the 655-yard 16th hole and hooked a 3-wood into the trees. He blasted through the branches and through the fairway, getting a good break when a young fan picked up his ball, allowing Day to drop it from behind a tree.

Then, he tried to squeeze a shot from 200 yards around the pond. It came up short and rode the collar of the bank into the water, leading to double bogey. Day didn’t hit a green in regulation over the final six holes, closed with a bogey and shot 72 to tie for third.

“Disappointed, but I’ve got to try and focus on what I did great this week, move on, and try and get better for the next one,” Day said.

Scott Piercy was a runner-up to Johnson for the second straight time. He narrowly missed birdie chances, and the birdie putt he made on the 18th gave him a 70 and allowed him to finish alone in second.

Johnson, who finished at 6-under 274, moved to a career-best No. 2 in the world by a fraction over Jordan Spieth.

Spieth closed with a 67 and tied for third with Matt Kuchar (66), Kevin Chappell (67) and Day.

Johnson, who won his third World Golf Championship, did his part. He showed plenty of rust the opening two days, coming off a week in The Bahamas when he celebrated his 32nd birthday and his first major championship. He hit his stride on the weekend with a 66-66 finish.

Johnson was three shots behind when he rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, and followed with a wedge into 8 feet for birdie on the next hole. Right when Day was getting into big trouble on the 16th, Johnson blasted a 9-iron out of the thick rough on the 17th to 15 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to take command.

Johnson now has 11 career victories in his nine years on the PGA Tour.

“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like my game is where it has been all year. I just haven’t been putting quite as well as I’d like. The last couple of weeks, I just putted a little better.”

He made it sound so simple, even as the back nine became so complicated.

Johnson ran into trouble himself on the 18th hole when he pulled his tee shot into the rough and clipped a branch on his punch shot, dropping into deeper rough. Instead of trying to play over a bunker, he pitched to the far collar of the green and lagged his putt to make sure he made nothing worse than bogey.

Unlike his U.S. Open victory, at least he knew the score.

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Thongchai Jaidee produced an impressive display of front-running to win the French Open by four strokes, as Rory McIlroy failed to deliver a final-round surge on Sunday.

Starting the day with a two-stroke lead over McIlroy, the 46-year-old Thongchai birdied two of his first six holes and shot a 3-under 68 to finish on 11-under 273 at Le Golf National outside Paris, where the 2018 Ryder Cup will be staged.

For his eighth victory on the European Tour, the Thai player collected $650,000 – the biggest cheque of his career. He described his fourth victory over the age of 40 as his “biggest win ever.”

“I had Rory two shots behind me but I tried to play my own game, hit a lot of fairways and greens,” said Thongchai, “and I knew this week I was putting well.”

Francesco Molinari finished in second place after shooting 66, the lowest round of the final day.

McIlroy couldn’t get near Thongchai. He bogeyed No. 3 and made his only birdie on No. 14, shooting an even-par 71 to be a stroke behind Molinari in third place.

The fourth-ranked McIlroy regarded that as a success, considering he is in the middle of vast changes to his swing.

“I’ve got 10 days until the (British) Open starts,” McIlroy said, looking ahead to the third major of the year at Royal Troon starting July 14. “I’m going to be working every day to try and get better and will play a bit of links golf to work on the shots I need for Troon as well.

“Even though this week it didn’t feel that good I’m obviously doing some things right.”

Brandon Stone, Alex Noren, Callum Shinkwin and Richard Sterne all qualified for the British Open after finishing in the top 12.

RENO, Nev. – Greg Chalmers won the Barracuda Championship on Sunday at Montreux for his first PGA Tour title, eagling the final hole for a six-point victory in the modified Stableford scoring event.

The 42-year-old Australian won in his 386th start after entering the week as the active player with the most events without a victory.

“It’s hard to win and I’m very thrilled and very pleased to get it done,” Chalmers said. “It was a tough. I knew today would be difficult. And we had difficult conditions. I was blessed, I think, that guys found it tough just the same as I found it tough.”

A point ahead of Gary Woodland and needing at least a par on the par-5 18th to wrap up the victory, Chalmers made an 8-foot eagle putt after hitting a 320-yard drive and 230-yard, 7-iron approach. A few minutes earlier, Woodland hit an 8-iron into the right bunker and three-putted for bogey.

“Quite fortunate that Gary didn’t birdie the last,” Chalmers said. “That would have put a lot of pressure on me.”

Chalmers had a four-point round to finish with 43 in the system that awards eight points for double eagle, five for eagle, two for birdie and deducts a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse. He also had two birdies and five bogeys, the last two on Nos. 15 and 17.

The left-hander earned a two-year tour exemption, a spot in the British Open at Royal Troon and other perks. With only conditional status, he had split time between the tour and the Web.com Tour this year. The two-time Australian Open champion missed the cuts in his previous five starts on the big tour.

“Just to get back on the PGA Tour. I can’t tell you how exciting that is,” Chalmers said. “Forty-two years of age, I turn 43 in October. This is a real fork in the road for my career, and it’s in the right direction.”

Because of the West Virginia floods that led to The Greenbrier Classic being cancelled, a British Open spot was transferred to the leading player not already eligible at Montreux.

“Can’t wait,” Chalmers said. “It’s such a great thing that the R&A and Barracuda here have done for us, even though the circumstances that came about weren’t the greatest.”

Woodland, the 2013 winner, also had a four-point round to finish second.

“It’s frustrating,” Woodland said. “I didn’t make any putts coming down the stretch.”

In standard scoring, Chalmers finished a stroke ahead of Woodland and third-place finisher Colt Knost, closing with a 1-over 73 for a 15-under total.

Knost had a 10-point round to reach 35. He has three top-four finishes in his last five events.

“I stole some today, but I threw a lot away,” Knost said. “Honestly, all week I just didn’t strike it very well. My short game saved me.”

Tim Herron was another point back after a 13-point round. He was pulling for Chalmers to win.

“That would be great. That would be awesome,” the 46-year-old Herron said while Chalmers was in the middle of the back nine. “He’s grinding his butt off. We’re kind of in that stage of our career – should we hang with the family or should we keep going?”

Brendan Steele and Steve Wheatcroft tied for fifth with 32 points.

“Not the Sunday I wanted,” Wheatcroft said. “They definitely changed the golf course up on us. Took us four or five holes to figure that out. Can’t imagine too much water went on the greens last night. They were rock hard.”

Rhein Gibson had the shot of the week, holing out from 175 yards for double eagle on the par-5 18th. He set up the albatross with a 370-yard drive.

“I hadn’t had a birdie all day and just leaking oil, hitting good shots, not doing anything,” Gibson said. “I hit an unbelievable tee shot there, and had a wedge in. … Saw it go in. The crowd went pretty bonkers.”

Barracuda will donate $100,000 to a charity in Gibson’s name. The only other albatross in tournament history was by Shiv Kapur in 2010, when the hole played as No. 9.

Gibson tied for 25th with 24 points. He and other Australian players showered Chalmers with champagne.

“I didn’t expect that,” Chalmers said. “And kind of unique, because normally a lot of guys will just leave town. So, for them to stay and do that was kind of special.”

Chalmers’ father, John, also was there to celebrate.

“My father just comes out to travel with me when my mom and my kids and my family are staying back in Dallas,” Chalmers said. “He just likes to come out and watch golf. He plays. It’s good for us as father and son – he’s 72 now – for us just to bond and chat and solve the world’s problems every night.”

Chalmers got the last laugh on a Twitter troll, too.

“Unfortunately, someone on Twitter said, ‘That guy can’t close out.’ … I’ll be tweeting him back later, don’t worry about that.”

TROON, Scotland – Tiger Woods is out of the British Open, the first time he has sat out three straight majors.

The R&A announcement was not a surprise. Woods has not played in nearly a year as he recovers from two back surgeries. He has given little indication when he will be healthy enough to return.

This will be only the second time Woods has missed the British Open. He had knee surgery in the summer of 2008 and missed Royal Birkdale, and he missed the Open at Royal St. George’s in 2011 while recovering from leg injuries.

Woods was replaced in the field by Marcus Fraser of Australia.