Golfer Jaco van Zyl Pulls Out of Majors to Focus on Olympics

Jaco van Zyl, a South African golfer, has pulled out of the Open Championship, which starts next week, and the PGA Championship to focus on, brace for this, THE OLYMPICS!

"“I expect that there will be a camp that will criticize me for withdrawing from the majors, but I feel very passionate about golf’s debut at the Olympics,” van Zyl said. “Rory [McIlroy] said in a recent press conference that we play four ‘Olympics’ a year because major titles are what we play for, but I don’t agree. To me, the Olympics is the pinnacle of all sporting events, and to have the chance to represent Team South Africa on sports’ biggest stage is an honor I don’t take for granted.”"

Van Zyl is currently ranked 65th in the world and is projected to represent South Africa with countryman Brandon Stone. Van Zyl’s opportunity to play in the Olympics came after Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, and Branden Grace withdrew from consideration.

While it’s commendable that van Zyl wants to represent his country at the Olympics in what will likely be the only chance he ever has to do so, the 37-year-old, who does most of his playing on the European Tour, is giving up chances at some of golf’s more coveted trophies.

"“I need to go to Brazil with the rest of the South African team knowing I am in peak mental and physical health and that I can give my best over four rounds,” he said. “The majors will still be there next year, but I don’t know if I will get another chance in 2020.”"

He’s right, the majors will still be there and it’s very likely that he won’t qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

[Golf Channel]