Twice major victor Jordan Spieth is still undecided about whether to participate in August’s Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games or opt out because of the Zika virus like several of his fellow professionals.
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Jason Day pulled out of the Olympics on Tuesday because of the Zika virus, costing golf its No. 1 player as it returns from a century-long absence at the games.
“As a tool to grow the game around the world, I think it’s great”, McIlroy, a four-time major victor, told reporters ahead of the 100th French Open, of golf’s inclusion at the Olympics. Part of me feels that way, too, which is why I’m going in, you know, with a whole mindset of how do I protect myself, how do I prevent and also raise awareness for this.
On top of that concerns have been sparked by an attack on Rio’s largest hospital, close to the Olympic stadium, just a week ago when more than 20 armed men stormed the building to reportedly free a drug gang master being held inside.
Others who have withdrawn specifically because of Zika are Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Marc Leishman.
IGF executive director Antony Scanlon, who has been involved in nine Olympics, believes golf still can put on a good show.
“I’ve heard some stories on both sides about the security threats that Brazil and Rio have”, Spieth added.
“Transportation is a big security issue down there, how to get from one place to another with the different kind of violence that we don’t see here”. The Olympics are going to be fine.
The woman who lifted the sport to national prominence staring down players and officials with her icy glare will be remembered for far more than the impressive numbers she piled up over 38 seasons, including eight national titles. Coach Summitt won a million games, but I think what pushed her into rare air was her objective.
Zika is not a concern for the big-hitting left-hander and his wife as they can not have children and have an adopted son and daughter, although his regular caddie Ted Scott will not be travelling to Brazil because of his own worries.
“If I was the other way and I was planning on having more kids, I would not go”, Watson said.
“But I’m not. I’m in a situation where that’s not happening, so my decision was a lot easier”.
Summitt is the only person to have two courts used by NCAA Division I basketball teams named in her honor: “Pat Head Summitt Court” at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and “The Summitt” at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. We can’t have kids so that aspect is completely wiped away. I can see why they’re going.
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“As a young coach I read everything I could get my hands on about Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols. I remember only months after my college graduation, sitting front row at the Oklahoma High School Coaches Clinic listening to her speak about her “Definite Dozen”, as I began to create the architecture for my first high school program”. I didn’t want to disappoint people and I didn’t want to disappoint Paul McGinley, who I’ve become very close with. Helicopters have been grounded and more than half of the civil police’s fleet of cars has been idled in a bid to save on gas.
