Lee-Anne Pace withdraws from Rio Games because of Zika

Lee Ann Pace won’t compete in the Olympics out of concern about the Zika virus.

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 Fiji’s Vijay Singh.

“After weighing up all the options and discussing it with my family and team, I have decided that due to the health concerns surrounding the Zika virus, I will not be participating”, Pace wrote Wednesday in a statement.

Lee Anne Pace became the first female golfer to withdraw from the 2016 Olympic Games.

“I hope that everyone can understand that this was a very hard decision to come to, however my health and my future family’s health must come first”, she said.

Rory McIlroy believes the spate of withdrawals from this summer’s Olympics is not embarrassing for golf because the Games do not represent the “pinnacle” of the sport.

USA health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

Body parts have been discovered on Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana Beach, just yards from where the beach volleyball Olympic athletes are set to compete.

The virus is mosquito-borne and has been linked to defects in newborn babies, prompting those looking to start a family to take extra precautions.

Ireland’s London 2012 gold medal boxer Katie Taylor has questioned the golfers’ decision and said there “is more chance of getting killed by a spider in Australia” than there is of contracting Zika in Brazil.

“I’d say if the Olympics were in most other cities or most other countries in the world you wouldn’t have as many people not wanting to go and participate”. The 22-year-old American also admitted to feeling added pressure especially in the wake of top-rated players pulling out of the Olympics in Rio de Janerio citing concerns over the Zika virus, the Guardian reported.