“I was pretty sure all along I wanted to go play unless the threat would have gotten worse, then it would have been a very different story”.
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But he also says that it’s easy to beat the current testing program.
Rory McIlroy has taken aim at Olympic golf, saying he’s not even sure he’ll watch it on television.
McIlroy spoke Tuesday after a practice round for the British Open.
Golf’s four leading male players will be missing from the sport’s long-awaited return to the Olympics after world No3 Jordan Spieth became the latest high-profile withdrawal on Monday. “Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving – the stuff that matters”.
“I didn’t cite that”, he said.
“I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game – I got into golf to win championships and win major championships”.
Jordan Spieth calls his withdrawal from the Olympics “probably the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life”.
“While it has always been a major goal to compete in the Olympics on behalf of my country, playing golf can not take precedent over the safety of our family”.
Spieth cited “health concerns” as his reason for withdrawing, though he said the Zika virus was only part of it. The top 15 players in the world rankings – including Henderson -are all eligible with a limit of four for any country.
Rio de Janeiro’s time zone is one hour ahead of the Eastern time zone, so the network will televise most of the games live, with the exception of gymnastics. It got that on Tuesday when Masters champion Danny Willett and former U.S. Open victor Justin Rose – ranked 9th and 11th respectively – all but confirmed they will represent Great Britain in Rio. International Golf Federation president Peter Dawson announced the decision at the British Open.
Women’s golf was not an event in 1904, but George Lyon of Richmond, Ont., won golf in the men’s individual at the St. Louis Olympics, with Americans winning the other individual medals and all three team medals.
The women only had one player withdraw, Lee Anne Pace of South Africa, due to Zika concerns.
“I figured it out on my own, but I kind of knew”.
But the International Olympic Committee and its president, Thomas Bach, are also pointing to the guidelines from the World Health Organization, which has not recommended any restrictions on travel to Rio.
“I don’t expect anybody to understand but trust that I believe I’m making the right decision for myself, for my future and for those around me”.
“But we remain confident we will stage two very exciting and compelling golf competitions in Rio”.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have all chose to sit out golf’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
In a statement, the Australian explained: “The reason for my decision is my concerns about the possible transmission of the Zika virus and the potential risks it might present to my wife’s future pregnancies and to future members of our family”. Spieth was not expected to speak until Tuesday. The equipment is contracted to the local Rio de Janeiro government and will be used to assist with security measures for the Rio Games.
However, that did not assuage the concerns of the world’s leading golfers, many of whom have young families or are planning to start them.
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“I know (Brooke’s) only thinking about one thing – the gold medal”, said Sharp.
