Four-times major winner Rory McIlroy has decided to pull out of the historic golf tournament at the Rio Olympic Games in August because of health fears over the Zika virus.

“After speaking with those closest to me, I’ve come to realise that my health and my family’s health comes before anything else,” the Northern Irish world no.4 said yesterday.

“Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless and a risk I am unwilling to take.”

McIlroy is engaged to American Erica Stoll.

The 27-year-old golfer was due to represent Ireland at the Games and his withdrawal is the latest blow to golf, which is returning to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.

A number of big names including Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Charl Schwartzel, of South Africa, have also withdrawn from the Rio Games because of the virus.

Controversy over the August 5-21 Games has grown as more about Zika becomes known. The mosquito-borne virus can cause crippling birth defects and, in adults, has been linked to the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre.