Jason Day concerned over Zika, may back out of Olympics

Jason Day isn’t sure now if he’s going to represent Australia in the Olympic golf tournament in August. He’s concerned about the spread of Zika virus, and that may cause him to back out of the event.

“It’s difficult to say right now,” Day said at the Memorial Tournament. “We’re just really trying to monitor what’s going on and make an educated decision because obviously we’re not done having kids.”

Day and his wife, Ellie, have two children: Dash, aged 3, and Lucy, just 7 months old. They’re concerned about the potential spread of Zika through mosquitoes in Brazil.

“Obviously it could happen here in the States, but I think if you are putting yourself down there there is a chance of you getting it,” Day said. “We are going to explore every avenue to make sure we make an educated decision before we go down there.”

Day said he is seeking counsel from his own doctor, not going alone on what the PGA Tour’s medical staff has been saying.

“I think there’s a lot of guys who are on the fence about it because they don’t want to put themselves in harms way of it,” he said.

Were Day to decide to pull out, the 60-player men’s tournament would be without the top-ranked player while the sport returns to the Olympic program for the first time in 112 years. He would join the likes of Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Vijay Singh, who have all withdrawn their names from consideration.

Rory McIlroy was on the fence about competing, concerned about the growing chorus from the medical community about the potential danger of Zika and spreading it through the world. However, McIlroy announced at Muirfield Village this week that, based on his research, he’s comfortable taking the trip to Rio.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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