McIlroy ready to play Olympics

Rory McIlroy is ready to compete at the Rip Olympics after having his mind put at ease over the Zika virus.

A number of players have elected not to compete at the Olympics Games because of the risks and last week McIlroy admitted he would turn down a spot in Rio due to the virus, which has been linked to defects in newborn babies.

However, the four-time major winner is pressing ahead with plans to represent Ireland in Brazil after speaking to medical professionals about the risks.

"Since then I've sought out some advice and I had two dead shoulders for about four days last week because I got my shots and whatever I needed to get for going down there," McIlroy told a press conference ahead of the Memorial Tournament.

"Obviously, there's no vaccination for Zika.

"It's the fact that 500,000 people go to Rio and they spend three weeks at the Games, they go back out of Rio and some might have contracted Zika and don't know about it, and then all of a sudden instead of it being this virus that's contained in a certain part of the world, it's now a global epidemic. And I think that's the real concern.

"So for me to go down there, even if I was to get Zika, it's six months and it's a virus and it works its way out of your system.

"And it's nice that we can come back, and (if you) feel like you've had some of the symptoms down there, you can get tested for it, and it's either a yes or a no you've had it.

"I'm ready to play. I feel like the advice I've sought out over the past 10 days has put my mind at ease and makes me more comfortable going down there knowing that, even if I do contract Zika, it's not the end of the world.

"It takes six months to pass through your system and you're fine."

Former Masters and US PGA champion Vijay Singh and Australia's Marc Leishman have decided against competing in Rio because of the virus, while Masters Champion Danny Willett is monitoring the situation.