--- description: He is the fifth golfer to cite Zika as a reason to not attend the Olympics title: Golfer Jason Day Skips Rio Olympics Due to Zika Fears image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cdff0f3864fd1bd/698899b3f887dcaef3e966ae/jason-day-rio.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [golf](/tag/golf/) ## golf Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # World No.1 Golfer Jason Day Skips Rio Olympics Due to Zika Fears by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 28, 2016 12:54 PM CUT  Jason Day of Australia watches his tee shot on the fourth tee during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 19, 2016 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Jason Day of Australia watches his tee shot on the fourth tee during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 19, 2016 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.Christian Petersen—Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 28, 2016 12:54 PM CUT Golf’s number 1 player Jason Day will not be competing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio due to fears of catching the Zika virus. [In a statement](https://mobile.twitter.com/JDayGolf/status/747760977437876225/photo/1 "undefined"), the 28-year-old golfer wrote: “The reason for my decision is my concerns about the possible transmission of the Zika virus and the potential risks that ii may present to my wife’s future pregnancies and to future members of our family.” The Australian says that even though the risk of transmission is “slight,” it is a risk he is unwilling to take as he plans on having more children. The virus has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly. His announcement comes nearly week after Northern Irish golfer [Rory McIlroy](http://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/36595631 "undefined") dropped out. [According to _AP_](http://wtop.com/golf/2016/06/jason-day-says-zika-fears-will-keep-him-out-of-rio-olympics/ "undefined"), Day is the fifth golfer to cite Zika as a reason to not attend the Rio Games. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4385193/jason-day-rio-olympics-zika-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4385193/jason-day-rio-olympics-zika-australia/"},"headline":"World No.1 Golfer Jason Day Skips Rio Olympics Due to Zika Fears","datePublished":"2016-06-28T12:54:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:53:56.731Z","description":"He is the fifth golfer to cite Zika as a reason to not attend the Olympics","url":"https://time.com/4385193/jason-day-rio-olympics-zika-australia/","keywords":["golf","Sports topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cdff0f3864fd1bd/698899b3f887dcaef3e966ae/jason-day-rio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cdff0f3864fd1bd/698899b3f887dcaef3e966ae/jason-day-rio.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jason Day of Australia watches his tee shot on the fourth tee during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 19, 2016 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.","caption":"Jason Day of Australia watches his tee shot on the fourth tee during the final round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 19, 2016 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.","creditText":"Christian Petersen—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/golf/","name":"golf"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4385193/jason-day-rio-olympics-zika-australia/","name":"World No.1 Golfer Jason Day Skips Rio Olympics Due to Zika Fears"}}]}] ```