Regeln » The ITF said the players have been subject to a rigorous

TROON, Scotland -- Jordan Spieth, going for the third leg of the career Grand Slam, spent more time talking about a golf course he will never see.The majority of his press conference was taken up with questions about the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and why he chose not to play. Spieth knew that was coming. It was only when he was leaving the room that the 22-year-old Texan smiled and said to no one in particular, Do we have a tournament this week?Finally, yes.Colin Montgomerie, who lived across the street from Royal Troon when his father was the club secretary, hits the first tee shot when the British Open begins on Thursday. That should put to rest three days of consternation about another tournament -- the Olympics -- that doesnt have nearly the history or the tradition of golfs oldest championship.The International Golf Federation, run by former R&A chief Peter Dawson, took over Open week on Monday to announce that Olympic qualifying had ended and that Spieth (along with Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and 16 other men) was not playing.The next day, Spieth stood by his decision (health concerns) and said his goal would be to get to the Tokyo Games in 2020, assuming the men are still in the games. McIlroy followed him into the room and blasted golf officials who for the last seven years have preached the Olympics as an opportunity to grow the game.I didnt get into golf to grow the game, McIlroy said. I got into golf to win championships, and win major championships.Even on Wednesday, the day before the 145th Open began, another press conference was held with the IGF backdrop to announce Britains golf team.Claret jug, anyone?Spieth let it slip through his fingers last year at St. Andrews going for his third straight major, and he wound up holding it later that evening -- but only because he was with Zach Johnson, the champion golfer of the year, when it was over.I crave to have that trophy in my possession at some point, Spieth said. And to reach a third leg of the Grand Slam this week would be a fantastic achievement.History is on his side, even if its more of a coincidence. The last six British Open champions at Royal Troon dating to 1950 are Americans, and it didnt escape Spieth when he looked at photos of the winners in the clubhouse. The last two winners, Todd Hamilton and Justin Leonard, lived in Dallas.Spieth arrived on the weekend and already saw the unpredictable nature of these Ayrshire links off the Irish Sea.The wind was into his face on Saturday and Sunday on the easier opening holes, and the prevailing wind at his back returned the following three days. Royal Troon is clearly a tale of two nines. The front nine typically is downwind and doesnt have a par 4 longer than 422 yards. The back nine turns into the wind and doesnt have a par 4 that his shorter than 430 yards.The common denominator? Bunkers dot the landscape on both sides, along with thick, prickly gorse bushes more prevalent at the turn. Fairway bunkers effectively are a half-shot penalty, possibly a full shot or more if the ball rolls up against the vetted faces.We looked at the holes, and on paper it looked relatively simple, Masters champion Danny Willett said. But you start knocking it in a couple of the bunkers, up near the faces, the bunker design is a little bit sneaky.The closing holes into the wind can be a three-club difference.You can see when its flattened out, you can have a go at the golf course, he said. But if you get it breezy, like in any Open venue, this place really shows its teeth.The record score at Royal Troon is 12-under 272 when Leonard won in 1997.McIlroy has been feisty this week. Along with taking on the purpose of golf in the Olympics, he was annoyed by a newspaper headline that referenced the Fab Four and suggested he was close to becoming Ringo Starr, regarded as the least of four Beatles.It was only two years ago that McIlroy ended the summer of 2014 by winning two straight majors and leaving no question who was No. 1. Spieth, Day and Johnson have combined to win four of the last six majors, and McIlroy is now at No. 4 in the world.I cant worry about other guys, McIlroy said. Im pretty confident that if I go out and play my best golf Im going to win more times than not. Ive got four major championships, and Id love to add to that tally -- just as those guys would love to add to their one or two majors that they have and just keep going.What the Fab Four has in common is all of them want a claret jug -- and none are going to the Olympics, anyway. Cheap Sabres Jerseys .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. https://www.cheapsabres.com/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Buffalo Sabres Store . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Wholesale Sabres Jerseys . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. MOSCOW -- Seven Russian swimmers have been barred from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, including three linked to recent allegations of a major doping cover-up by Russian authorities, world swimmings governing body FINA said Monday.Reigning world 100-meter breaststroke champion Yulia Efimova is among four Russian swimmers withdrawn by the Russian swimming federation because they previously served doping bans, FINA said. The others are Natalya Lovtsova, Anastasia Krapivina and Mikhail Dovgalyuk.The International Olympic Committee on Sunday said Russian athletes with previous doping bans would be banned from the Rio Games. That followed the IOCs decision not to ban the entire Russian team over allegations of state-sponsored doping.FINA said three more swimmers were identified by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren when he examined evidence that Russian government officials ordered the cover-up of hundreds of doping tests.They are 2008 Olympic silver and 2012 bronze medalist Nikita Lobintsev, bronze medalist Vladimir Morozov and world junior record holder Daria Ustinova.Russias top Olympic official, Alexander Zhukov, told Russian agency R-Sport that he now believed a total of 13 Russians would be ineligible due to previous doping bans. They would be withdrawn from the team, he added.The 13 are likely to include athletes in swimming, cycling, weightlifting, wrestling and rowing.On Sunday, the IOCs executive board asked individual global sports federations to decide on the entry of Russian athletes, and announced new eligibility criteria.The rules prohibit Russia from sending to the Rio Games any athletes who have previously served doping bans. Sports federations can also reject Russian entries if they have not undergone enough international drug testing. Results of Russian tests will not be accepted following allegations of routine cover-ups at Moscows anti-doping laboratory.It remains unclear whether there could be legal challenges to the IOC criteria. A similar IOC measure, known as the Osaka Rule, which would have prohibited any athletes who had received doping bans from competing in the subsequent Olympics, was declared invalid by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.Zhukov said the IOCs latest criteria violated the principle of equality because they only applied to Russia, although he has previously ruled out legal action.However, Russian Swimming Federation president Vladimir Salnikov told the state Tass agency that the four swimmers cut from its team have the chance to appeal to CAS. Efimovas agent, Andrei Mitkov, told Russias Sportbox website that she intended to file an appeal if she was not allowed to compete.Russias track and field athletes remain barred from the games by the IAAF, a decision upheld last week by CAS and accepted by the IOC.Now, with the Aug. 5 opening ceremony approaching, it is up to the remaining 27 international sports federations to vet Russian athletes on an individual basis.The International Weightlifting Federation said Monday it was seeking further clarification from the IOC and WADA before making a decision on which Russian athletes can be cleared to compete at Rio.ddddddddddddThe Budapest-based IWF said some points might lead to confusion regarding the IOC ruling giving individual sports federations the responsibility of deciding who can compete in Rio.The IWF said no Russian weightlifter sanctioned for doping will be allowed to compete -- even if they had already served their suspension -- and that it was waiting for evidence from the Russian athletes entered for Rio before making its decision.The archery federation said Monday it had approved the entry of three Russian archers after determining they have no links to doping.World Archery said it was satisfied that the three female Russian archers nominated for the games had been tested extensively and have never been sanctioned for doping. They were listed as Tuiana Dashidorzhieva, Ksenia Perova and Inna Stepanova.Archery was not implicated in the World Anti-Doping Agency report released last week by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, which accused Russia of covering up doping in 20 summer Olympic sports.Russian archers have been targeted for additional testing, both in and out of competition, since the report was released, the federation said.No Russian archery athlete has received an adverse analytical finding, it said, adding that it would submit its findings to the IOC.The International Tennis Federation said Sunday it expects Russias eight-player Olympic tennis team to be eligible for the games. The ITF said the players have been subject to a rigorous anti-doping testing program outside Russia.The International Equestrian Federation said there was no indication of doping within Russias five-rider team.Russian cyclist Ilnur Zakarin, who won a stage during the Tour de France which ended Sunday, could be ruled out because he served a two-year ban after testing positive for a steroid in 2009.The International Judo Federation, whose honorary president is Russias President Vladimir Putin, said it has already tested 84 percent of the 389 athletes from 136 countries who are qualified to compete in Rio. It made no mention of the 11 Russian judo athletes entered.The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said it has taken note of the IOC ruling and shall fully adhere to it. It said it would establish a pool of Russian eligible athletes. Gymnastics was not mentioned in the McLaren report.Boxings governing body, AIBA, said it was examining Russias entrants. Eleven Russian boxers have boxers for Rio, including reigning world champions Vitaly Dunaytsev and Evgeny Tishchenko.We are reviewing and analyzing, on a case by case basis, the anti-doping record of the 11 Russian boxers currently qualified for Rio 2016, AIBA said. This information and the decision of AIBA in respect of the athletes eligibility will be submitted to the IOC for confirmation in due course.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson in London contributed. ' ' '