World number one Jason Day announced on Tuesday that he will not compete at the Olympic Games in August when golf makes a return for the first time since 1904.
A trip to Brazil ‘absolutely comes with health risks to me and to my family,’ the 28-year-old said in a statement.
The Australian father of two cited the Zika virus as his primary reason for skipping the trip to Rio de Janeiro. He and his wife Ellie plan to have more children in the future.
‘While it has always been a major goal to compete in the Olympics on behalf of my country, playing golf cannot take precedent over the safety of our family,’ he said.
The virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, has been associated with severe birth defects and was the reason Rory McIlroy and Branden Grace chose not to play.
Day is the third Australian golfer to withdraw from the Olympics, following Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.
