Rory McIlroy has already earned his berth for Northern Ireland’s Olympic golf team.
But, and there is a big but — there is growing concern over the well-publicized Zika virus and McIlroy has his concerns as well.
“As it gets closer I am relishing the thought of going down there and competing for gold. 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,” McIlroy told the lads at the BBC.
He makes a good point and you have to wonder if the folks from the organizing committee in Brazil are going to want accurate reports to come out if the epidemic is really bad.
President Barack O’Bama has asked Congress for $1.9 billion to battle this Zika stuff. And $1.9 billion tells us it has to be more serious than the folks down there in Brazil might want to admit.
Golfers risk more exposure as they will be outdoors for at least six hours at a shot, counting rounds and warmups and that’s six hours PER DAY.
McIlroy is entitled to be concerned. He tells us that he and fiancée Erica Stoll are planning their future and there are plans for children.
Zika causes birth defects.
It’s a cause for concern for all the athletes. And given that gold medals don’t count as a major championship in golf, McIlroy could choose to bow out like so many already have.
