Rory McIlroy announced Wednesday he has decided he won’t participate in the upcoming Summer Olympics because of fears over the Zika virus. But Jason Day hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he’ll represent Australia in Rio de Janeiro.
“I respect [McIlroy’s] decision because it’s a tough one going from trying to represent your country and trying to win a gold medal, but also understanding it’s a life decision you have to make just in case there’s a small percentage that will happen.,” Day said Wednesday at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. “It’s a [risk] that some people aren’t willing to take. I haven’t made a decision yet because I just finished the U.S. Open.”
Day was at Baltusrol for media day in advance of the upcoming PGA Championship, where he is the defending champion. Day won the first major championship of his career at Whistling Straits last August and has claimed five more wins to vault to a No. 1 ranking in the world. He finished tied for eighth at the U.S. Open at Oakmont last week, six strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson.
Golf is an Olympic sport for the first time 112 years, but McIlroy elected not to represent Ireland because of the threat of the mosquito-borne virus. McIlroy is engaged to PGA employee Erica Stoll and has talked of starting a family soon.
“My health and my family’s health come before everything else,” McIlroy said in a statement. “Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it’s a risk nonetheless and a risk I am unwilling to take.”
Day would be the top selection to represent Australia. Fellow Aussies Adam Scott and Marc Leishman already have pulled out of the Rio Games because of the Zika issue or family and scheduling reasons.
“For me family is priority number one,” said Day, who has a 3-year-old son, Dash, and a daughter, Lucy, who is less than a year old. “So I’m going to make sure they’re happy and then I’ll make the decision.”
The PGA Championship is normally held in mid-August, but has been pushed up to the last weekend in July, two weeks after the British Open, because of the Olympics.
“It’s two majors in a month,” Day said “I’m going to the Open Championship early, but I can’t obviously come here early. I can’t come into this week burnt out because I’ll have more stuff to do the week of the PGA like the Champions Dinner and all the stuff from being the defending champion.… I really have to watch my recovery because it’s going to be a really demanding schedule.”
Day said he was looking forward to playing with Scott at the World Cup of Golf in late November in Melbourne, Australia. Day and Scott teamed to win the 2013 event on Aussie soil. As the top-ranked player from Australia, Day was allowed to choose his partner.
“I asked him about it last week and he said he’s going to play with me, so he’d better,” Day said. “I think we’d be a great team in World Cup.”