Rickie Fowler is slightly preoccupied with an aspect of the Brazilian wildlife ahead of Rio 2016, but it is not the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The potential health hazard of competing at the Olympics has dominated the build-up to golf's return after a 112-year absence.
Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have all opted to skip the event in Brazil, with Fowler and Bubba Watson expected to lead the United States' hopes for gold. Having practiced on the course, where burrowing owls call the bunkers home, located next to Marapendi Lake, Fowler is hoping to steer clear of one animal in particular.
"Capybara being the largest rodent they say, it's a decent sized animal," said Fowler. "I wouldn't want to get in a fight with it, that’s for sure. If I was a capybara I'd love to live at the Olympic course."
Fowler's USA team-mate Patrick Reed is unconcerned about mosquitoes, suggesting his approach in Rio will be no different to anywhere else he plays. "I live in Houston and San Antonio and I've lived in Baton Rouge, so I've always used bug spray, I've always used sunscreen," he said.
"It's nothing new. Mosquitoes are mosquitoes, you see them all around the world. It's just kind of one of those things, being an outdoor sport, you have three things you have to do, you have to wear sunscreen, you have to wear bug spray and you have to hydrate. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, those are kind of the norms for playing golf."
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