Brooks Koepka withdraws at TPC River Highlands after his caddie tests positive
Thursday 25 June 2020 06:35, UK
The PGA Tour has confirmed the Travelers Championship will go ahead as scheduled, despite a growing number of positive coronavirus cases.
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PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon, following three positive tests ahead of this week's event at TPC River Highlands, with further adjustments set to be made to the health and safety protocols.
Nick Watney became the first PGA Tour player to test positive for Covid-19 ahead of the second round of the RBC Heritage on Friday, before Cameron Champ withdrew from this week's event after receiving a positive test during pre-tournament screening on Tuesday.
Former world No 1 Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell also pulled out after their caddies, Ricky Elliott and Ken Comboy respectively, both tested positive, while Webb Simpson and Chase Koepka withdrew out of an "abundance of caution" despite seeing their tests come back negative.
In a statement, the PGA Tour said: "We have been working since March to develop a comprehensive health and safety plan that would be considered a best practice among professional sports leagues.
"While we have been thorough in building and implementing a program that mitigates as much risk as possible, we knew it would be impossible to eliminate all risk - as evidenced by the three positive tests this week.
"We need to use these developments as a stark reminder for everyone involved as we continue to learn from an operational standpoint; we are making several adjustments to our health and safety plan, as noted in the memo sent to players this morning, and we will continuously reinforce to all players, caddies, staff members and support personnel on property at PGA Tour events to adhere to social distancing and other safety protocols that further minimise risk."
Simpson's withdrawal came after a family member tested positive for Covid-19, while Chase Koepka - who came through Monday qualifying - made his precautionary decision after playing a practice round with McDowell and older brother Brooks, whose caddies both received positive tests.
There have now been seven positive tests out of 2,757 conducted over the last three weeks across the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour. As of 2.50pm ET on Wednesday (7.50pm BST), there had been no positive tests at the Korn Ferry Tour's Utah Championship.
Watch the Travelers Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins with Featured Groups on Thursday from 11.45am on Sky Sports Golf and midday on Sky Sports Main Event.
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