World No. 1 Lydia Ko says she's too excited about playing golf at the Olympic Games to worry about the Zika virus — and most other women on tour feel the same. The top men's golfers have pulled out of the Games in Rio de Janeiro, many citing Zika health concerns, prompting questions about the sport's return to the Olympics after 112 years. But Ko, 19, said she trusted the advice of health experts and was thrilled at the prospect of becoming an Olympian for New Zealand. "I'm more excited about the Olympics, about the ceremony, about just being part of the Olympic vibe than worrying about the Zika virus," she said. "There are so many experts that are taking care of all that... we've just got to trust them." The two-time major winner said other women golfers were similarly excited. "To all the girls that I've talked to, that's kind of the response," Ko said in the pre-Olympic interview that preceded Jordan Spieth's withdrawal this week from the men's event. "We're all excited to go to Brazil and represent our countries and be there amongst the other Olympians. "It's unfortunate with what's happening with the Zika, but we all trust the people that are taking care of it," she said in the June interview, before she went public with her views. Ko made similar comments ahead of this week's LPGA Marathon Classic in Ohio, saying: "If it was so dangerous that we couldn't compete... I'm sure they would pull us off." World No. 1 Jason Day of Australia, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama are among the other top men who are not participating. McIlroy gave a blunt assessment this week of the Olympics' place in the pecking order for male golfers, saying he probably would not even watch the Rio tournament. When asked what he would tune into during the Games, McIlroy added: "Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters." No way golf will be excluded in 2020, says LET chief Ladies European Tour (LET) chief executive Ivan Khodabakhsh has dismissed the idea that golf will be excluded from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a British bookmaker offered odds of 10-1 on the prospect. A host of big-name male withdrawals from next month's Games in Rio de Janeiro including the top four in the world, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, has caused a media frenzy at this week's British Open. Ladbrokes reacted to the furore by opening a book on the possibility of golf, which is returning to the Olympics in August for the first time since 1904, being excluded in Japan. "For Tokyo it is a confirmed sport 100 percent, golf will be there," Khodabakhsh said at Royal Troon. "It is now more about how we position golf in the future beyond Tokyo. "Right now the stage has gone to those who, for whatever reason, are saying they can't make it. Once the Games start though it is all going to be about those who are there competing for their country." Day, Johnson and McIlroy pulled out because of the threat from the Zika outbreak in the Americas while Spieth opted not to go to Rio for more general health reasons. While the men's event in Rio will be decimated by no-shows, world NO. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand is to lead an almost full-strength lineup of female players in Brazil. "If anything Zika should be a concern for female golfers and athletes and it's amazing the positive feedback we've had from our LET players," said Khodabakhsh. "We've received all the health information from the IGF (International Golf Federation) and IOC (International Olympic Committee) and the overwhelming feedback we had was ‘we will never let a mosquito come between us fulfulling our dreams'. "I could understand unease from any female athletes, especially young ones, when it comes to the virus," said the 49-year-old German. "The bottom line is that it's not good news that male players are withdrawing but there are so many players who are excited to be a part of Rio."
