That means golf’s return to the Olympics after 112-year absence will not include the top four players in the world – Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Spieth, and Rory McIlroy.
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Speaking at a news conference before this week’s Open Championship in Scotland, where the game’s leading players have assembled for the third major tournament of the golf season, McIlroy said: “I don’t feel like I’ve let the game down at all”.
Dawson admitted the number of withdrawals was “disappointing” and did not paint men’s golf in a good light.
Golf has commitments from seven of the top 13 players in the world.
Spieth’s loss to the Olympics will not be the gain of the John Deere Classic, which is being played opposite the Games, beginning on August 11.
“I don’t actually think that matters”.
“If there’s Olympic games down in Johannesburg, would guys pull out because of malaria?”
With around half of the 15 players to have officially ruled themselves out of the Olympics citing the threat of the Zika virus as their reason, new-dad Willett admits it was a “tough decision” to play.
“I can tell you that I’m not specifically pinpointing any one thing in my health concerns either. T he golfers are skipping Rio, not the Olympics”.
“I can not imagine more spectacular backdrops for the world’s top sportsmen and women to showcase their talents to a watching world”, Nawal El Moutawakel said in a statement from the International Olympic Committee on Monday. My guess is they (basketball and soccer players) want a World Cup, (or) an NBA championship before a gold medal.
“They’re varied”, he said of the statistics which are reviewed, “starting with television viewing, that’s one of the major components of that across 30 major markets”. “I’ve played it in a couple of different winds now, which is really valuable”, said the 35-year-old 2013 US Open champion.
“I got the email and phone call from Team USA last night and I went through a lot of things with them, and we’re all in”, he said after finishing his final round at Castle Stuart.
Spieth is having a fairly strong year – finishing first in two tournaments and runner-up in the Masters – and was expected to help the US team big-time if he made a decision to participate. “I’d love to add to that tally, just as those guys would love to add to the one or two majors they have”. But as part of the whole experience, I want to take in the Games as a whole. “So please don’t do that for me”, the American said.
“I’ve been watching (thee rankings) every week and knew that maybe a couple of weeks ago that it was probably mathematically impossible to not be on the team”, said Sharp, who will join world No. 2 Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., as Canada’s women’s pairing.
The network pays about $1 billion every two years for its Olympics rights, NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Steve Burke said last month.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that there should be “no general restrictions on travel and trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission”, including the areas that will host the Olympics. So it’s going to be a fun occasion, and I’ve never been to an Olympic games in any capacity.
