De Jonge withdraws from Olympics

July 7, 2016

De Jonge withdraws from Olympics

Brendon de Jonge

Brendon de Jonge

Takudzwa Chitsiga, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S top professional golfer Brendon de Jonge has become the 12th golfer to withdraw from next month”s Olympic Games in Brazil in order to protect his USPGA Tour card which is set to expire in August.

De Jonge”s withdrawal means that Zimbabwe will not be represented in Rio, but Spain”s Sergio Garcia has confirmed that he will take up his place as golf returns to the Games for the first time since 1904.

The 35-year-old is currently a lowly 160th in the FedEx Cup standings, having missed the cut in 15 of his 19 starts this year and is left with five tournaments to make his card eligible.

De Jonge has not cited the threat of the Zika virus as his reason for pulling out of the competition but believes it is a business idea.

‘‘It’s truly a business decision,” De Jonge said in a statement to GolfChannel.com.

“It would have been a great honour to play for my country. I’m truly disappointed, but my current position on the FedEx Cup points list doesn’t 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 play-offs. This has to be a priority for me and my family,” he said.

If the country’s top golfer fails to play his way into the top 125 by the end of the Wyndham Championship on August 21, he will not retain his Tour Card for the 2016/17 season.

Should he decide to play in Brazil, he will have to miss two events on the PGA Tour schedule which will effect negatively on his standings.

Just over one year ago, de Jonge was in the top 100 of the World Ranking but, following a poor run of form, has slipped down to 319.

De Jonge”s plight has not been helped by the cancellation of this week”s Greenbrier Classic, because of flooding in West Virginia, leaving just five remaining events for him to play in.

He has finished inside the top 100 of the FedEx Cup standings in each of the past six years but, since mid-January, he has failed to post a top-50 on the PGA Tour.