CROMWELL, Conn. — Another PGA Tour player in the Travelers Championship field has tested positive for COVID-19 and been forced to withdraw from the tournament.
Denny McCarthy, after feeling symptomatic Thursday night, tested positive Friday morning. Bud Cauley, one of his playing partners on Thursday, tested negative, but told Tour officials he was feeling some symptoms and withdrew as a precaution.
The Tour, implementing its “response plan’’ in consultation with medical experts, administered 16 additional tests Friday of those who may have had close contact with McCarthy. McCarthy was the lone positive and now must quarantine in the area for 10 days.
Cauley and Matt Wallace, the third in the group, both tested negative on Friday morning, as did their caddies, Matt Hauser and David McNeill.
“I’m very thankful I have tested negative but have decided to withdraw out of an abundance of caution for my peers and everyone involved with the tournament,” Cauley said.
Wallace played on, teeing off by himself at 1:30.
McCarthy, who shot a 3-under-par 67 in Thursday’s opening round, said he “was feeling pretty tired and sore after the round (Thursday) but didn’t think much of it because I had practiced a lot Monday to Wednesday.’’
“On (Thursday) night, I woke up in the middle of the night with additional aches and soreness and sensed something was off,’’ he went on. “I felt like the only thing to do was get tested at that point before I went to the course.”
McCarthy is the third PGA Tour player to test positive in the three weeks since the Tour’s re-start. Nick Watney withdrew after feeling symptomatic entering the second round of the RBC Heritage Championship last week and later tested positive. And Cameron Champ tested positive before the Travelers began this week and withdrew Tuesday.
The Travelers also lost Brooks Koepka and his brother Chase when Brooks’ caddie, Ricky Elliott, tested positive before the tournament began. Graeme McDowell, whose caddie Ken Comboy tested positive, also withdrew out of precaution. And Webb Simpson, citing a family member of his testing positive, also withdrew.
So, for those scoring at home, the Travelers has lost six players from the field this week.
“Denny has our full support as he self-isolates here in Hartford and recovers, and I know I speak for the entire Tour membership in thanking him for doing the right thing in requesting an additional test before heading to the golf course today,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “What Denny, Bud and others are demonstrating is exactly what we asked of everyone — continue to do your part in taking this virus seriously and keeping not only your own health as a priority, but also that of your fellow competitors and those you may come in contact with.’’
Kevin Streelman, the 2014 Travelers Championship winner and a member of the PGA Tour’s Players Advisory Council, praised the Tour for its thorough handling of the situation.
“Some of these positives were inevitable,’’ Streelman said. “We’re just going to have to take it week by week and try and do the right things, do the smart things. I think everyone realizes it’s important and the protocols are critical, and everyone needs to take them very seriously.’’
Asked if he believes the players and caddies should be tested more often than they are, which is once upon their arrival to the tournaments, Streelman said, “I think we ordered about as many as we’re allowed to have at the Tour. They’ve asked for as many as they can get. You also don’t want to take away resources from the communities we’re going to. We’re all open to as much testing as needs to be done.’’
After the positive tests at the start of the week, there were some calls from people on social media to cancel the tournament and for the PGA Tour to suspend its season. Monahan revealed earlier this week that more than 2,700 tests had been administered on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour and, as of Wednesday, only seven came back positive. Now it’s eight.
“You hear one or two positive tests and people are panicking, and I saw a couple of calls to shut the tournament down, which is silly from my point of view,’’ Rory McIlroy said on Thursday. “There’s been almost 3,000 tests administered. The percentage of positive tests is under a quarter of a percent. I think as a whole, it’s been going really well.’’