JOHANNESBURG, June 24 (ANA) – South African Branden Grace is the latest top golfer to withdraw from the Rio Olympics golf event as he announced he would not play over concerns of the Zika virus.
Grace, 28, confirmed his decision on Friday.
"After serious consideration, it is with regret that I have decided to withdraw myself from the Olympic competition due to the risk posed by the Zika virus," Grace said in a statement.
"Although it was a huge goal of mine to represent my country in the Olympics, we are getting married in November and hoping to start a family in the near future, so I must put the health of my family first.
"I wish the SA team the best of luck in Rio and sincerely apologise to the South African fans as I really appreciate all of the support they give me each week. It would have been a huge honour to represent my country so I really hope to be able to qualify again in four years’ time."
Grace, the top-ranked South African at number 11 in the world rankings, was the third SA player to withdraw following Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen announcing their unavailability earlier this year.
Jaco van Zyl, meanwhile, following a missed cut at the US Open last week is in danger of falling out of an Olympic qualifying spot.
With the July 11 cutoff looming less than three weeks away, Van Zyl has slipped six spots to 59th in the world rankings. With only the top-60 in the world garnering invites to the Rio Olympics, the 37-year-old now finds himself in danger of missing out on qualification if he cannot maintain his ranking. – African News Agency (ANA)
