COVID-19: Watney tests positive, withdraws from PGA Tour event

Watney, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, played the first round on Thursday in a group with fellow Americans Vaughn Taylor and Luke List.

Nick Watney signals after a tee shot during the first round of the RBC Heritage Golf tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

American golfer Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage in South Carolina ahead of the second round on Friday after he became the first PGA Tour member to test positive for COVID-19.

Watney, who travelled privately to Hilton Head Island for the tournament and was not on the PGA Tour-provided charter flight, is the first member of the circuit to test positive for the novel coronavirus.

The PGA Tour said upon arriving at Harbour Town for second-round action, Watney indicated he had symptoms consistent with the illness. After consulting with a physician, Watney was administered a test and found to be positive.

 

“For the health and well-being of all associated with the tournament and those within the community, the Tour has begun implementing its response plan in consultation with medical experts including working with those who may have had close contact with Nick,” the PGA Tour said in a statement.

Watney, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, played the first round on Thursday in a group with fellow Americans Vaughn Taylor and Luke List.

The tournament is the second in the PGA Tour's return from a three-month COVID-19 break and among the five that will be played without spectators to help stem the spread of the virus.

The PGA Tour said 369 individuals (players, caddies, essential personnel) underwent on-site testing before the start of the tournament, with zero positive results.

The field at the tournament features plenty of household names, including the top five golfers in the world rankings.

Watney was also in the field last week at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where he missed the cut.

According to a PGA Tour participant resource guide, anyone who tests positive will be quarantined while a "disinfecting/decontaminating response” is implemented to ensure all possible surfaces touched by the infected individual are quickly cleaned.

The guide also said that at-home tests before travelling to a tournament are “strongly encouraged” but not required and that players and caddies must begin self-screening for seven days prior to tournament travel.

Upon arriving at a tournament, players and caddies must proceed to a testing site to receive a nasal swab test and thermal screening.

Once a negative test result is received, players will be issued a wristband or lanyard that grants them access to the locker room and clubhouse.