Golf great Nicklaus reveals he had coronavirus

July 20, 2020 | 09:14

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US golf legend Jack Nicklaus said Sunday that he and his wife Barbara tested positive for the coronavirus back in March and both recovered.

golf great nicklaus reveals he had coronavirus

DUBLIN, OHIO - JULY 19: Jack Nicklaus wears a mask during the final round of The Memorial Tournament on July 19, 2020 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.(Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP)

The 80-year-old Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 major titles, revealed the experience on the television broadcast of the US PGA Tour's Memorial tournament, which Nicklaus hosts at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

He said his wife had no virus symptoms, while he dealt with a sore throat and cough from March 13 "until we were done with it" more than a month later.

"It didn't last very long, and we were very, very fortunate, very lucky," said Nicklaus, who noted that he and his wife, both 80, are at an "at-risk age" for more serious COVID-19 symptoms.

"Our hearts go out to the people who did lose their lives and their families. We were just a couple of the lucky ones."

The US PGA Tour shut down for three months amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Memorial, the sixth event since the tour resumed, is being played without spectators as coronavirus case numbers surge in many areas of the United States.

Tiger Woods, a five-time winner of the Memorial, said he had known that the Nicklauses had tested positive.

"The fact that they got through it and they're safe and here and healthy, it's all good news for all of us who are a part of golf and who looked up to Jack and (have) been around Barbara all these years," Woods said.

AFP

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