(ATR) Golf’s Olympic return in Rio will lack the star power anticipated as world ranked number one Jason Day and Ireland’s Shane Lowry are the latest pros to withdraw from the Games.
The 28-year-old Australian Day and Ireland’s top ranked player Lowry stated their intentions Tuesday citing concerns over the Zika virus. Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy – who was to represent Ireland – announced his decision to skip the first men’s Olympic tournament in 112 years last week.
The list of elite tournament pros to opt out of the Rio de Janeiro tournament to be contested on the new Olympic course at Barra da Tijuca has risen to 11, including six major tournament winners.
Gerhard Heiberg, a member of the IOC program commission, denied that golf’s much-hyped Olympic return was taking a hit.
"No I don’t think so. This is not good of course but we have got assurances from the World Health Organization and authorities that Zika is not so dangerous. We feel we have the situation under control. Of course it is not good that golf players and others may not come.
Asked if the spate of withdrawals would lead to a second-rate Olympic competition with few big names to raise the sport’s Olympic profile, he said: "I don’t see it that way. This can be explained [Zika worries]. People understand why. No I am not worried.
"I understand the reasons. Still, we made the decision to have golf on the program and we want to keep it on the program. The situation is under control. We feel that yes this is interesting for all golfers and will continue to be so for Tokyo 2020."
The withdrawals of Day and Lowry means that the top three eligible players for Ireland, Australia and South Africa all will be absent from the Rio Olympics.
Not only Zika virus worries, but also schedule conflicts and a lack of interest have been reasons given by players for not taking going to Rio.
Other IOC members were more vociferous than Heiberg, suggesting that the recent withdrawals of elite players might alter their decision to keep golf in the Olympics past 2020 when it decides next year.
IOC member Barry Maister told New Zealand radio that golf shouldn’t stay in the Olympics if top players wouldn’t commit.
"I think it is appalling," said Maister, a gold medalist in field hockey for New Zealand in 1976.
"I don’t like it, and I don’t think the sport should be allowed to continue in the Games under that scenario.
"Once they’ve got in, they have got to deliver. Just getting in with your name, and then putting up some second or third rate players, is so far from the Olympic ideal or the expectation of the Olympic Movement.
"The Olympics is about the best, and they pledged the best. Quite frankly, any sport that cannot deliver its best athletes, in my view, should not be there."
Fears over the mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to birth defects in babies, have dominated the build-up to Rio 2016.
The World Health Organization declared an outbreak of Zika, which was prevalent in Brazil, to be a global emergency in February but its latest advice considers the risks at the Olympics to be "very low."
In addition to Day and McIlroy, other Major winners not going to Rio include Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Vijay Singh.
While the list of men withdrawing from the Rio Olympic tournament is significant, not a single female pro has opted out of the women’s tournament.
Children’s Hospital Asks McIlroy for Zika Support
South America’s largest children’s hospital has written an open heartfelt letter to McIlory urging him to turn his "personal concerns" about the virus into a "practical concern."
The letter, released by the CEO of the Little Prince Children’s Hospital in Curitiba, Brazil, addresses McIlory: "Having withdrawn from the Rio Olympics, we ask you, with dignity and respect, to transform your personal concerns around Zika, into a practical concern in supporting our medical research scientists who are not only working to protect our own mothers and children, but in the long-term, all mothers and children throughout the world."
"While we understand your reasons for withdrawing from the Olympics, the reality for us is that the medical profession throughout Brazil still must deal with the threats posed by the Zika Virus. We are not only fighting to contain and eliminate the virus, but we are also working desperately to stop it from spreading to Africa and Europe and the rest of the world."
The letter concluded wishing McIlroy good health and said they look forward to his "positive response".
McIlroy released a statement at the time of his withdrawal saying: "I've come to realize that my health and my family's health comes before anything else. Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a risk I am unwilling to take."
Written by Brian Pinelliand Mark Bisson
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