Molinari, the current world number 56, announced the news on his Instagram account and cited family reasons as the reason for his decision.

He has been replaced by Matteo Manassero on the Italian men’s team for the event in the Brazilian city.

“Unfortunately I have decided to withdraw from the Italian Olympic team due to family reasons,” he said.

“I am very disappointed to miss out on golf's return to the Olympics however, I am confident that Matteo will do a fantastic job in my place.”

Full list of male golfers to have withdrawn from Rio 2016:

The development came as the International Golf Federation (IGF) revealed the final Olympic qualification standings in both the men’s and women’s events.

The 60 male and 60 female players are all eligible to represent their countries at Rio 2016, where golf will make its return to the programme after a 112-year absence.

The IGF will publish the final confirmed men’s and women’s fields on Monday (July 18).

The men’s tournament has been affected by a spate of withdrawals and all of the top four ranked players in the world - Jason Day of Australia, Dustin Johnson of the United States, American Jordan Spieth and Ireland’s Rory McIlroy - have pulled out.

McIlroy, a four-time major winner, claimed in a press conference yesterday that he will not watch the Olympic golf competition, preferring to view “stuff that matters” at Rio 2016.

He was one of several players to blame concerns over the Zika virus as the reason behind his withdrawal, while others have cited family and scheduling.

Angelo Que of the Philippines also cited Zika as the reason for his decision to pull out.

Australia's Adam Scott and Mark Leishmann, South Africa's Brandon Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Fiji's Vijay Singh have also decided not to go to Rio.

While the men’s event has been ravaged by persistent withdrawals, only one female golfer - South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace - has opted out of the tournament.

Among those confirmed as heading to Rio in the men’s event are English duo Justin Rose, the winner of the 2013 U.S Open, and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, who will both represent Britain.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden and American Rickie Fowler are among the favourites for gold, along with Spaniard Sergio Garcia, and the trio has expressed their excitement at competing for their country at the Olympic Games.

The men’s Olympic ranking list was topped by Bubba Watson of the United States, while New Zealand’s Lydia Ko heads the women’s standings.

“After eight years of intense planning and preparation for golf’s historic return to the Olympic Games, the IGF is extremely excited finally to have reached this important milestone of identifying those players who are eligible to compete in Rio de Janeiro,” IGF President Peter Dawson.

“We are particularly gratified to see how many countries are represented among the men and women and anticipate compelling competitions for both on the outstanding golf course that Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott have created.

“It has taken a tremendous amount of work by a number of people to get to this stage, and we at the IGF are extremely grateful for the role each and every one of them has played in making this possible.”

Golf events at Rio 2016 are due to be held at the Reserva de Marapendi Golf Course between August 11 and 20.