Jason Day has admitted that he made a mistake in not competing for Australia at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Back then, Day was not only the top-ranked male Australian but the World No.1, but he chose not to play because of concerns over the Zika virus and the potential consequences of transmitting it on starting a family.
Eventually, Marcus Fraser and Scott Hend represented the country at the Olympics, but the pair couldn’t add to Australia’s medal tally.
Eight years on and Day is once again one of the world’s top players after recovering from a slump in form that saw him drop to 175th in the world rankings in October 2022.
Day, who is currently ranked 21st, explained after a three-under final round at The Masters that there wouldn’t be a repeat of that decision this year at the Paris Olympics, which start in July. He said: 'll play. If I'm in, I'll play for sure, yeah. I'm looking forward to it.
"I think I made a bit of a mistake not going down to Rio, even though part of it was family-related. I kind of missed out on that, and I probably should have gone. But if I get the opportunity, I'm looking forward to going.”
Several names are still in the frame to join Day, including Min Woo Lee, who is currently the most likely at World No.32, LIV Golf’s Cameron Smith and PGA Tour winner Cameron Davis, but the 36-year-old admitted he didn’t have a preference on who would accompany him.
He said: “No, I don't. Whoever is playing the great, that would be great. I think Min Woo is playing good solid golf too. And obviously Smithy, playing in LIV you don't get World Ranking points. He needs to play well in the Major championships, trying to shoot himself up the leaderboard.”
Lee admitted he would jump at the chance to join Day on the team. He said: “Yeah, it’s unbelievable. To rep Australia - when you’re a professional, you don’t really get to represent the Australian side.
“Obviously every week, week in and week out you represent Aus, but when you’re an amateur, I got to play for Australia a lot of times, so I do miss putting on the green and gold, and hopefully - obviously Jason is a playing partner and a teammate. That will be really special. My sister is going to be in there, too, so it will be an unbelievable experience. Hopefully it can stay this way and I can play.”
Last month, Smith said he’s “desperately” hoping to qualify. He will bag some much-needed world ranking points for his strong Masters performance, where he seemed set for a top-10 finish. He also has the PGA Championship and the US Open to come as he bids to climb higher than his current 68th in the world rankings. The cut-off for making the team comes the day after June’s Pinehurst No.2 Major.
Davis, who was also eyeing a top-10 finish at Augusta National, went into the tournament 62nd in the world rankings.
