The world No.12, who will play his first tournament on home soil in four years at the Australian Open, starting on Thursday, conceded his reluctance to travel to Brazil because of fears of contracting the Zika virus didn't paint some of the sport's highest paid stars in a good light.

He was joined by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy as golf's reintroduction to the Olympic Games after a 112-year absence was plagued by omissions.

Marcus Fraser and Scott Hend were eventually nominated as Australia's two representatives in an individual stroke-play format - one which many have subsequently called for to be scrapped in favour of a teams-based contest - because of the unavailability of Day, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.

But Day said he was determined to be at Tokyo in 2020, form permitting.

"It's really unfortunate because I didn't want [the Rio withdrawal] to come off the way it did," Day said.

"I know that if you're in a certain sport you might only get these opportunities once. I'm in a sport where I can stick around for a long time and if I'm good enough I can be in multiple Olympic teams. I didn't want to have the chance of bringing back a Zika virus.

"[But] I want to represent Australia, very much so. I represented Australia in the World Cup down in Melbourne [with Adam Scott in 2013] and I had a blast representing Australia. Japan is one of my favourite countries to ever visit and if I have a chance to get on the team I'm getting my plane ticket straight away."

Scott has largely shouldered the burden of public expectation during the Australian summer of golf, especially in more recent years, as Day has skipped homecomings through a litany of injuries and the imminent birth of his second child, Lucy, in 2015.

Scott and Leishman will both play the Australian PGA next week and not head to Sydney to tee it up with Day and world No.2 Spieth in the national championship at The Australian Golf Club.

But an engaging Day has undertaken an array of media commitments and children's clinics this week, reaffirming his commitment to Australian golf, despite rare appearances on these shores.

"I think he's had a range of things that have been unfortunate with injury and family," Golf Australia boss Stephen Pitt said when asked if Day hadn't travelled enough to play in the Australian Open.

"He's really committed to family and that's admirable in a player. I don't think that [a lack of commitment] is necessarily the case. I was quite surprised with the amount of injuries he's had to deal with."

A Day-Spieth final day pairing on Sunday would be the dream ticket with two of the highest profile stars in world golf expected to dominate the chase for the Stonehaven Cup.

"I would love to play with Spieth on Sunday in the afternoon [as] last group ... that would be the greatest thing," Day said. "He's had some tremendous finishes here at the Australian Open and I think he's won it twice. This [course] has kind of suited his eye and he hits it very straight.

"The biggest thing with Jordan is he's a competitor. His mental game is just off the charts. I've said over the last five years he's probably the most dominant player outside of Dustin Johnson. He doesn't have the natural ability of say DJ's length, but he has the best mental toughness of anyone on the tour. That's what gets him going. He's such a grinder."

Day will partner Geoff Ogilvy and Rod Pampling as the marquee morning group on Thursday.

Spieth will chase a third Australian Open in four years when he tees off alongside Cameron Smith, who he beat as part of a three-way play-off last year, and 2015 champion Matt Jones who returns to his local club.