Golf notebook: Van Zyl opts for Olympics in place of majors
By The Sports Xchange
--Jaco Van Zyl, taking the opposite approach to several players, said he will not play in the Open Championship and the PGA Championship because he wants to be 100 percent for the Olympics next month in Rio de Janeiro.
At least 14 players have withdrawn from Olympic consideration, most because of the Zika virus fears.
"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.
"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. The majors will still be there next year, but I don't know if I will get another chance (to play in the Olympics) in 2020."
Van Zyl has 14 victories on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, but has never won on the PGA Tour and missed the cut in his only four major championship appearances, including the Open Championship last month at Oakmont.
He will get his chance to play for South Africa because Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have withdrawn.
--Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe became the latest players to withdraw from the Olympic Games next month in Rio de Janeiro,
Johnson and Matsuyama said they will not be going because of Zika virus fears, like most of the others who have withdrawn.
"This was not an easy decision for me," Johnson, the U.S. Open champion said in a statement released by his management company. "But my concerns about the Zika virus cannot be ignored.
"I feel it would be irresponsible to put myself ... or our family at risk. I believe I am making the right decision for me and, most importantly, my family. While I am sure some will be critical of my decision, my hope is that most will understand and support it."
Said Matsuyama: "I know that players who are married and players who have kids are more concerned about it. I am not married but it still bothers me.
"I have not been contacted by (the Japanese Olympic Committee) and it is a bit much under the current circumstances to have someone tell you to go."
De Jonge became the 13th player to withdraw, but he had a different reason.
He's fighting to keep his PGA Tour card.
"The reason for my decision is not my concern about the Zika virus," de Jonge, who is 160th in the FedEx Cup point standings, told the Golf Channel. "It is truly a business decision. It would have been a great honor to play for my country.
"I am truly disappointed, but my current position on the FedEx Cup points list does not allow me the luxury to skip the John Deere Classic or the Travelers Championship. "I must finish in the top 125 to gain entry into our FedEx Cup Playoffs.
"This has to be a priority for me and my family."
Others who have decided not to go to the Olympics include Jason Day, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman of Australia; Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell, who would represent Ireland, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, and Vijay Singh of Fiji.
--Beau Hossler, the Fred Haskins Award winner as the best college player in the nation last season, announced that he will pass on his senior season and turn pro, although he can't play until October because of an injury.
Hossler won five times last season, third in Texas Longhorn history behind Ben Crensahw's seven titles in 1973 and Crenshaw's six in 1072.
"After months of weighing options and discussing with my loved ones, I have decided to turn professional and forgo my senior year at the University of Texas," said Hossler, who finished fifth in the NCAA Championships last month.
"I have been preparing to become a professional golfer, and have dreamed of this day for more than 10 years. I am blessed to have surrounded myself with some of the greatest people in the world. Without each one of their contributions, I would not be in this position today."
Hossler, a three-time All-American, sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder while helping the Longhorns win their semifinal match in the NCAA Championships, and was forced to concede his point in the match-play final--which was won by Oregon, 3-2.
After undergoing surgery, he had to miss the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, to which he received a sponsors exemption.
Hossler won the 2014 Western Amateur and the 2016 Jones Cup Invitational, and as a 16-year-old he briefly held the lead in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco before finishing in a tie for 29th.
Ranked No. 2 in the Golfweek men's college rankings at the end of last season, Hossler signed with Dallas-based Hambric Sports Management and will be represented by David Winkle, agent for world No. 2 Dustin Johnson.
--Charles Howell III removed his name from the alternate list at the 145h Open Championship this week at Royal Troon because of a medical procedure that will sideline him for about a month.
Stewart Cink, who won the 2009 Open in a playoff over Tom Watson at Turnberry and Jaco Van Zyl of South Africa also withdrew from the tournament, which would have put Howell in the field.
Howell's management team said he hoped to return for the Barclays, the FedEx Cup opener, on Aug. 25.
Luke Donald of England, former world No. 1, and Daniel Summerhays were added to the field to replace Cink and Van Zyl.
There was no announcement as to why Cink will not play in the third major of the year for the first time since 1999, but he has played only twice on the PGA Tour since his wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year.
Cink said at the time that his schedule would be limited, revolving around his wife's treatment schedule and overall health.
Van Zyl said he will not play in the Open Championship and the PGA Championship, but plans to play for South Africa in the Olympics next month in Rio de Janeiro.
--Se Ri Pak of South Korea said her appearance in U.S. Women's Open last week probably will be her final tournament in the United States and perhaps her last tournament as a player, period.
The 38-year-old Pak is captain of the South Korean Olympic team for the Games next month in Rio de Janeiro.
"After the Olympics, I think I'm pretty much done," Pak said.
Pak, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, inspired young girls in South Korea to play golf and her country has become a dominant force on the LPGA Tour.
After the Olympics, Pak said she might play in some events in Asia, put plans to devote most of her time to build a sports academy in South Korea to train young athletes.
"It's not too difficult to find happiness in mentoring," said Pak, who played in the U.S. Women's Open for the 20th time. "I know some fans who are out there always, every week. They said they are going to miss me. I am going to miss them, too."
Pak, who was the LPGA Tour's Rookie of the Year in 1998, won 25 times on the circuit including five majors, and has 38 victories around the world.
In her last U.S. event, Pak shot 73-80 -- 153 and missed the cut by five strokes.
--The Charles Schwab Cup Championship, season-ending event on the PGA Tour Champions, will move to Phoenix Country Club for 2017 and 2018.
This year's event, which will determine the winner of the season-long Race to the Charles Schwab Cup, will be played Nov. 10-13 at nearby Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where it also was played in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
"Phoenix Country Club is a wonderful venue on which to contest our most prestigious event of the year," President Greg McLaughlin of the PGA Tour Champions said.
"The Charles Schwab Cup Championship provides an exciting conclusion to our Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, and I am confident our players and fans will embrace this new venue for our season-ending tournament."
Phoenix Country Club was the original home of the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open in 1932, with Ralph Guldhal winning the inaugural event, and the tournament was played there more than 50 times.
The event, now known as the Waste Management Phoenix Open, moved permanently to TPC Scottsdale in 1987.
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship also has been played at Hyatt Dorado Beach in Dorado, Puerto Rico (1990-93), Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach. S.C. (1994-99), TPC Myrtle Beach (2000), Gallardia Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City (2001-02), Sonoma Golf Club in Sonoma, Calif. (2003-09), TPC Harding Park in San Francisco (2010-11, 2013), and on the Cochise Course at Desert Mountain (2012, 2014).
