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May 23rd, 2016
McIlroy to pull out of the Olympics?
Potential hammer blow for the five rings
Words: Tim Southwell Photography: Getty Images
It's one thing Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Charl Schwartzl saying they'd prefer to go on holiday rather than represent their country at the greatest show on earth, but if the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day start wavering, golf at the Olympics is going to be over before it really even began.
A 12 year old Rory McIlroy: "Just keep fighting Rors, you'll be in the Olympics one day..."
On Sunday, McIlroy told the BBC that he's at least considering the possibility of not playing.
"As it gets closer, I am relishing the thought of going down there and competing for gold," McIlroy told BBC. "But I have been reading a lot of reports about Zika, and there have been some articles coming out saying that it might be worse than they're saying, and I have to monitor that situation.
"There's going to be a point in the next couple of years where we're going to have to think about starting a family. Right now, I'm ready to go, but I don't want anything to affect that."
Rory McIlroy aged 27: "Think of the children, Rors."
Golf is only guaranteed a spot until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. There will be a vote as to whether to keep golf as an Olympic sport between Rio and Tokyo. Rory is golf's golden ticket right now. If he pulls out you can easily foresee a domino effect as other top players question how 'real' a win at the Olympics will be at least one of the world's finest players isn't there.
