Golf News Update: Olympic Golf May Not Happen

Any golf fan who may have been excited to watch the sport take to the Olympic games is going to be disappointed. According to the latest news surrounding the sport of golf being added to the 2016 Olympics, there have been more false starts, stumbles, and duffs on the road to legitimize Olympic golf that it is almost expected to fail miserably.

Deer Creek Golf Course in Deerfield Beach, Florida reported last month that there was a brief glimmer of hope for the sport when Rory McIlroy joined the Olympic roster of golfers headed to Rio. However, earlier this month, McIlroy confirmed that he would not be going amidst concerns about the Zika virus. Mcllroy’s renunciation has caused golf fans and championship golf courses across the U.S. to lose hope in the sport’s participation and success in the 2016 Olympics.

What’s more interesting: The Zika virus has not affected one single person involved with the Olympics in Rio so far. Even more interesting is the fact that no other athletes in any other event at the Olympics have withdrawn because of concerns about Zika. Male golfers are the only ones that are refusing to play because of Zika; every other athlete in the entire competition will be there, including female golfers.

Some South Florida golf courses say that the Zika virus is being used as a smoke screen for the real reason why male golfers are refusing to play in the Olympics. Rumored reasons are that Rio is too far, the Olympics is not part of golf culture, and the main reason is that there are too many majors occurring during the same time, which are more important to their careers. The U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championships, Fed Ex Cup and Ryders are coming up and many golfers may want to take a break and relax or mentally prepare for those championships instead.