poke to before announcing his withdrawal.That was probably one of the toughest phone calls Ive had to make, because weve talked about it so much, McIlro

Rory McIlroy believes the spate of withdrawals from this summers Olympics is not embarrassing for golf because the Games do not represent the pinnacle of the sport.McIlroy, who will marry fiancée Erica Stoll next year, opted out of representing Ireland in Rio after citing his concerns over the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus which has been linked to defects in newborn babies and Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.World No.1 Jason Day and U.S. Open runner-up Shane Lowry also withdrew their names from consideration this week, joining a growing list of players which includes Australian pair Marc Leishman and Adam Scott, South African trio Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and Fijis Vijay Singh. Graeme McDowell also made himself unavailable as his wife is due to give birth to their second child during the Games.Speaking ahead of the Open de France at Le Golf National, McIlroy was coincidentally forced to bat away an insect as he answered the first of several questions on the topic, including whether the number of withdrawals meant golf should not have returned to the Games for the first time since 1904.Thats not for me to say, the four-time major champion said. I wasnt a part of the process. The R&A and some of the other bodies that run our sport thought it was a great idea, and obviously it is, to try and get golf into different markets, and the Olympics is obviously a great platform to do that.Ive said to people I have four Olympic Games (major championships) a year. Thats my pinnacle. Thats what I play for. Thats what Ill be remembered for.Some people argue that it would have been better to send amateurs there, but the whole reason that golf is in the Olympics is because they wanted the best players to go and compete. But unfortunately with where it is this year, people just arent comfortable going down there and putting themselves or their family at risk.Id say if the Olympic Games were in most other cities or most other countries in the world this year, you wouldnt find as many people not wanting to go and participate.I dont think its embarrassing for the game because most other athletes dream their whole lives of competing in the Olympics, winning Olympic gold, and we havent. We dream of winning Claret Jugs and we dream of winning green jackets. Whether that makes golf look insular in any way ... its just the way it is.Although there is no vaccination for Zika, McIlroy recently had the others required to travel to Brazil and said in May he wanted to go and give it my best shot while he did not have a family. The 27-year-old also said he did not want to let down Irelands golf captain Paul McGinley, whom he spoke to before announcing his withdrawal.That was probably one of the toughest phone calls Ive had to make, because weve talked about it so much, McIlroy added. Weve done so much work, got accommodation, got security down there, got a chef in, got everything planned out. I got my jabs; I had two dead shoulders for about four days.But then at the end of the day, if Im not 100 percent comfortable going down there, I just dont want to put it at risk. Theres another Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and Im more than happy to wait until then to get that Olympic experience.Asked why none of the top female golfers had withdrawn despite the risks posed by Zika, McIlroy added: I guess some of the top women golfers might not have plans to have children in the next six months to a year. Youve got Shane [Lowry] who has just got married. Jason Day has a young family. Im getting married next year.I think you cant really compare apples-to-apples because were just in a different position than they are. Id say 90 percent of the athletes going to the Olympics are single and have no plans to start a family in the near future, whereas there are some golfers that are in that position and in that scenario.World No.2 Jordan Spieth said on Tuesday he was uncertain about playing in Rio, adding: Ive heard some stories on both sides about the security threats that Brazil and Rio have.Transportation is a big security issue down there, how to get from one place to another with the different kind of violence that we dont see here.Im going to get answers soon on how we plan to be secured down there. This is a personal safety decision which is going to outweigh any pressure that we feel [to compete].In contrast, Germanys Martin Kaymer is keen to compete in Rio and compared the Games to the Ryder Cup, only a lot bigger.He added: The Ryder Cup is a lot of passion and a lot of heart, but if you play for your country and you see the people from your country getting prepared for the Olympic Games, for their moment, that they prepared for four years. Thats super inspiring.In a selfish way, Im happy that they pulled out if it makes it easier for me to become a gold medal winner. But if you see the bigger picture , if no one goes this year and very little go in four years, the chance that we are going to compete [in 2024] is going to be slim. Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. 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