P.G.A. Tour Reminds Golfers to Stay Safe at Travelers Championship

On Wednesday, four golfers withdrew from the tournament because of Covid-19 concerns, including Brooks Koepka and Webb Simpson, the fourth- and fifth-ranked players in the world. Koepka departed after his caddie, Ricky Elliott, tested positive for the virus as part of the PGA Tour’s multilayered testing system. Koepka’s brother, Chase, who had also qualified for the tournament, also withdrew after having played a Tuesday practice round with Brooks and Elliott. Earlier in the day, the former United States Open champion Graeme McDowell announced he would not compete because his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive for the coronavirus this week.

Simpson, who won last week’s PGA Tour event in South Carolina, withdrew and chose to isolate himself because a family member had recently tested positive for the virus. Two other golfers, Nick Watney and Cameron Champ, had already withdrawn from the tournament after positive test results in the previous 10 days.

The departures sent a jolt through the golf community and had Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, warning players of “serious repercussions” if they did not follow new, stricter safety protocols. Shane Lowry, the reigning British Open champion, said when asked if the withdrawals had jarred his colleagues: “The first couple of weeks have been kind of a kick in the backside to all of us.”

Scores of golfers Thursday went out of their way to praise the safety measures imposed by the tour, including the world’s top-ranked golfer, Rory McIlroy.

“There’s been almost 3,000 tests administered and the percentage of positive tests is under a quarter of a percent,” McIlroy said. “I think as a whole, it’s been going really well.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/sports/golf/pga-golfer-positive-tests.html