Garcia, Stenson Will Head to Rio For Olympics
Published on July 7 2016 6:44 am
Last Updated on July 7 2016 6:44 am
By ESPN
With several elite men's golfers having withdrawn in recent weeks from golf's return to the Olympics, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson will both be in Rio to try to win the first golf gold medal in 112 years.
Garcia took to social media, saying that although he recognizes there will be "some dangers" to playing in Rio, the bigger picture of representing his country and growing golf globally are "too important." The Spaniard is currently ranked 12th in the world.
Stenson, who is No. 6 in the rankings, said he is looking forward to the Olympics and isn't worried about the Zika virus, the mosquito-borne disease which has been linked to severe birth defects.
"If I make myself and my country happy, that would be something very special," Stenson said prior to this week's Scottish Open. "I have a few nice trophies at home, and it would be nice to hang an Olympic medal next to them. I think that would look kind of cool.
"I'm in a different situation and it might be the only time when it's a competitive advantage to be 40-plus and done with the bambino thing. I've got three kids at home and I'm not looking to have any more. I might be in a different situation then, but the Zika virus is not a concern of mine."
In all, 12 men so far are skipping the Olympics, including world No. 1 Jason Day (Australia) and No. 4 Rory McIlroy (Ireland) along with major champions Adam Scott (Australia), Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Graeme McDowell (Ireland) and Vijay Singh (Fiji). In addition, Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Marc Leishman (Australia), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and Branden Grace (South Africa) have said they won't be Rio-bound in August.
Lee-Anne Pace, who was the highest-ranked South African at 37th in the world, is the only woman who has said she won't compete in Rio.
Murray next gets No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych, a straight-sets winner over Lucas Pouille. Murray has an 8-6 head-to-head record against Berdych but has won the past four matches, losing only one set.
