Is Rory Backing Out of the Olympics?

In an interview with the BBC, Rory McIlroy hinted that he may not be heading to Rio this summer after all.

“Right now, I’m ready to go but I don’t want anything to affect that,” he said, “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.”

Vijay Singh and Marc Leishman have both already backed out due to concerns over the Zika virus.  Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have also already said they won’t be attending because of scheduling concerns.

If Rory does eventually back out of the Olympics, that’s a pretty big nail in the Olympic golf coffin.

McIlroy has been one of the more vocal supporters of golf returning as an Olympic event, saying he relishes the opportunity to compete for a gold medal for his country.

If he decides it isn’t safe enough, how many other pros follow his lead?

Cover Photo via Wikipedia