AVONDALE, La. – Adam Scott has become the second golfer to opt out of this summer’s Olympic Games.
According to the Australian’s manager, Johan Elliot with Sportyard International, the timing of the Games doesn’t fit into Scott’s schedule. Scott also opted out of the 2016 Games in Brazil citing the busy PGA Tour schedule and the Zika virus outbreak.
“With the world being the way it is, Adam is gone 4-5 weeks at a time this year during his playing blocks,” Elliot said in a statement to GolfChannel.com. “With three young children at home, this time in the schedule will be devoted to family. It is pretty much the only time up until October when he has a chance to see them for a stretch of time and not only a few days/a week.”
The Games are scheduled to be played July 29-Aug. 1 at Kasumigaseki Country Club outside of Tokyo. That’s two weeks after The Open in England and a week before the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis with the playoffs looming later in August.
In March, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson also opted out of playing the Olympics. He cited the scheduling of the competition and travel issues. “It’s a lot of traveling at a time where it’s important for me to feel like I’m focused playing on the PGA Tour,” he said.
The current front-runners to represent Australia in Japan are Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.