Australian golfer Jason Day, who skipped the Rio Olympics while ranked No. 1 in the world, said he “definitely wants to” play at the 2020 Tokyo Games, should he qualify.
Day, 30, withdrew one month before the Rio Olympics, citing Zika virus concerns.
The top four players in the world at the time skipped the Rio Games — Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.
“The biggest thing, it’s really unfortunate because I didn’t want it to come off the way it did,” Day said Wednesday. “It was just difficult because I know that if you’re in a certain sport sometimes you only get these opportunities once, and I’m in a sport where I can stick around for a very long time. If I’m good enough, I can be in multiple Olympic teams.”
Day struggled last season, going winless and falling to No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
If Olympic golf qualifying remains the same for 2020, Day must either stay ranked in the top 15 or be one of the top two ranked Aussies come 2020 to assure himself a spot on the team.
Marc Leishman is No. 13, followed by Adam Scott at No. 30. Both of them also skipped Rio.
“I want to represent Australia very much so,” Day said. “Japan’s one of my favorite countries to ever visit, so if I have the opportunity to get on the team, I’m getting my plane ticket straight away.
“I’m looking forward to playing.”
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