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Jason Day WDs from Olympics, citing Zika concern

World No. 1 Jason Day became the latest player to opt out of the Olympics, citing concerns over the Zika virus.

Day joins Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott as the highest-profile players to remove themselves from consideration for the Summer Games. Seven of the top 10 players in the world are still committed to the Olympics, which are Aug. 11-14.

Day made the announcement Tuesday after consulting with medical experts, who confirmed that a decision to compete in Rio “absolutely comes with health risks to me and to my family.”

Day and wife Ellie already have two young children and hope to have more in the future.

“While it has always been a major goal to compete in the Olympics on behalf of my country,” he said in a statement, “playing golf cannot take precedent over the safety of our family.”

Day is the 11th player to withdraw from the Olympics, but the third from Australia, following Scott and Marc Leishman.

The top two players currently eligible for the Australian team are Scott Hend and Marcus Fraser.

- Ryan Lavner, Golf Channel, NBC Sports