Covid shock hits American Watney
Nick Watney became the first golfer to test positive for covid-19 last night as the game’s troublefree progress following lockdown came to a disturbing end at the RBC Heritage tournament in South carolina.
Watney was reportedly feeling unwell when he arrived at the event and, while he tested negative last Monday, that all changed when he had another test before his second round yesterday.
in accordance with PGA tour policy, he withdrew from the event and will isolate for at least 10 days nearby, while officials followed a test and trace policy to find anyone with whom he might have had contact. Watney’s playing partners, fellow americans Luke List and Vaughn taylor, played their second rounds.
a tour statement said: ‘ For the health and wellbeing of all associated with the tournament and the local community, the tour has begun implementing its response plan. Watney was not on the PGA tour chartered flight and travelled privately to Hilton Head.’
there were no positive results from the first event in texas last week and none from the 369 players, caddies and essential personnel who were tested on Monday.
this event is one of five at the start of the tour’s return that are free of spectators, to limit the chance of infections. the sombre news overshadowed what to then had been an exciting day’s play, where the most talked about man in golf simply added to the conversation with another eye- catching display.
all the post-lockdown chat so far about Bryson Dechambeau had concerned the ton of weight he’s put on and the distance he’s added with his driver. But what he’s showing on the trickiest, tightest course on the PGa tour will have tongues wagging with renewed ferocity.
the 26- year- old californian started and ended by missing putts under five feet but still shot a marvellous 64 to be just one stroke behind the halfway leader and his playing partner, Webb Simpson, who had statistically the best putting round of his entire career.
if there was nothing more to the rebuilt Dechambeau than a quest for increased distance, the devilish Harbour town course would have quickly found him out.
the Mad Scientist has started referring to his driver in terms of a mythological sea monster but, as he acknowledged: ‘this is not a place where you can unleash the kraken.’
at colonial last week, it was the kraken that left everyone openmouthed, but this time he deployed plenty of stealth to show off some of the other weapons he’s added over lockdown.
the physics major has remodelled his swing and tampered with the shafts and loft of every club in his bag — and all 14 worked a treat yesterday.
On the front nine on the course — Dechambeau’s back nine — the par is 36 and it’s no exaggeration to say he could have covered the stretch in 27 blows.
‘it was a good 64 but it could have been a great 61,’ said the world No 12, with good reason.