Graham DeLaet, Alena Sharp tweet about becoming Olympians
Brooke Henderson, David Hearn expected to be on Canada's Rio team
By Callum Ng
Canadian golfers Graham DeLaet and Alena Sharp have tweeted their excitement at becoming Olympians in Rio, even as the first Olympic golf tournament in 112 years is shaken by the withdrawals of many top men.
Both Golf Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee will make Canada's four entries — two men and two women — official on Wednesday afternoon.
But the bearded DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., and Hamilton, Ont.'s Alena Sharp happily shared their inclusion on Twitter.
It's starting to sink in that I will be an Olympian representing Canada in Rio! What an honour! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio?src=hash">#Rio</a> <a href="https://t.co/CdzV86KAE2">pic.twitter.com/CdzV86KAE2</a>
—@GrahamDeLaetSharp, 35, tweeted this on Sunday:
Very happy and proud to have my best major finish in my career! And finally can say I'm an Olympian🇨🇦🇨🇦
—@AlenaSharpThe final Olympic golf rankings, published on Monday, also show the Canadian names of David Hearn, born in Brampton, Ont., and no. 2 ranked Brooke Henderson, of Smith Falls, Ont. They are expected to round out the Canadian entries for Rio.
No surprise: <a href="https://twitter.com/BrookeHenderson">@BrookeHenderson</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AlenaSharp">@AlenaSharp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HearnDavid">@HearnDavid</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/GrahamDeLaet">@GrahamDeLaet</a> will play for Canada at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/defendthegold?src=hash">#defendthegold</a>
—@BobWeeksTSNThe Olympic golf tournament will be missing the top-four ranked men, plus almost 20 others, with Jordan Spieth announcing his withdrawal on Monday, citing concern over "health issues."
The American follows Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, who each cited the Zika virus as their reason for not attending the first Olympic golf tournament since 1904, an event won by Canadian George Lyon.
Lee-Anne Pace is the only woman to drop out. The South African also pointed to the Zika virus.
The Olympic golf tournament run for the men from Aug. 11-14, while the women are set for Aug. 17-20.