Dustin Johnson Comments on Possibly Playing for Team USA at 2016 Rio Olympics

A couple of marquee golfers have already pulled out of the 2016 Summer Olympics, but Dustin Johnson affirmed Wednesday his desire to compete for the United States in Rio de Janeiro. 

According to GolfChannel.com's Will Gray, Johnson was one of four American stars who met with USA Golf in Akron, Ohio, to discuss questions they had about potentially participating in the Olympics.

"I thought the meeting was good. It cleared up a lot of things," Johnson said. "Still waiting to hear back on a couple things that all four of us had a concern about, but we'll have some answers early next week. I mean, at this point I'm going to go to the Olympics and represent my country. I'm looking forward to it."

Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler were the other golfers in the meeting. Watson is "100 percent in," but Gray reported Spieth is still up in the air about whether he'll play.

Jason Day and Rory McIlroy have already withdrawn their names from consideration for their respective countries, with both citing fears over the Zika virus, per the Telegraph's James Corrigan. Shane Lowry tweeted Tuesday he won't go to Rio either, in part because of Zika.

Johnson said Wednesday's meeting focused on a different issue, per Gray: "Just security concerns. I think they've got it covered pretty well. We talked very, very briefly about Zika, but it was mostly all security concerns."

While it's understandable why top names would decide against playing in the 2016 Olympics, their absences could have major ramifications. Golf will continue to be a part of the Olympics through 2020, but the International Olympic Committee will begin evaluating the sport's future after Rio.

Should IOC officials be unimpressed with this year's event, they could decide against including golf in the Olympic program in 2024 and beyond.