Nicklaus changes mind, supports pros skipping Rio 2016

The men's golf event at the Rio Olympics has been ravaged by players deciding to skip the Games, causing legends such as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to voice their displeasure.

Upon further thought, however, the "Golden Bear" has changed his mind and now supports players such as Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and Adam Scott passing on the event.

"I felt bad for the game of golf when guys first started (dropping out), I thought maybe it was a little selfish on their part to not grow the game of golf," Nicklaus told Alex Butler of UPI.com. "Then I started thinking more about it and thought maybe I shouldn't have said that because it's not about that. They aren't about growing golf right now. They are into playing golf."

The players that have dropped out have cited scheduling conflicts or concerns over the Zika virus as the reason. While Nicklaus originally balked at that idea, he now understands why player's concerns over the virus is warranted.

"The Zika has been a large part of it," Nicklaus said. "A lot of them are young guys. In most sports that are played they are in a stadium or indoors in an auditorium or something like that. They are out on a facility down next to a marsh area. There are going to be mosquitoes there and that's probably going to be an issue for them."

The men's golf event begins Aug. 11.