Rory McIlroy is one of a number of PGA stars who are skipping the Summer Olympics due to Zika virus concerns, but the four-time major champion hardly seems disappointed about it.
While speaking to the media on Tuesday, McIlroy said he does not plan to watch golf when it returns to the Olympics this year for the first time since 1904. And that isn’t because it hurts too much that he won’t be there.
“I’ll watch the Olympics, but probably not golf,” McIlroy said, via Golf Digest. “I’ll watch track and field, swimming, diving … you know, ones that matter.”
Though McIlroy has cited Zika concerns as the reason he will not travel to Rio, it sure sounds like he has no interest in Olympic golf no matter where the Summer Games are held.
“I didn’t get into golf to try and grow the game,” he said. “I got into golf to win championships and win majors.”
You have to wonder how many golfers feel the same way. Zika is a legitimate concern, as it can cause major birth defects if contracted by women. Jordan Spieth is the latest PGA golfer to bow out of the Rio Olympics, and he isn’t even engaged to his longtime girlfriend yet as far as we know. It seems unlikely that the 22-year-old is thinking about starting a family anytime soon.
