(Reuters) – Former world number four Graeme McDowell has said he will withdraw from this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut after his caddie Ken Comboy tested positive for COVID-19.
Northern Irishman McDowell tested negative earlier this week but his long-time caddie Comboy returned a positive test on Tuesday.
“For the protection of the field and for my own physical and mental well-being, I’m going to take a test tomorrow morning then jump on a private plane,” McDowell, a four-times winner on the PGA Tour, told Golfweek on Tuesday.
“I’m going to get myself out of here, home to Florida and decide whether I need to quarantine myself from my family.”
Cameron Champ, twice a winner on the PGA Tour, has also withdrawn from the event after testing positive for the virus during pre-tournament screening, while fellow American golfer Nick Watney returned a positive test last Friday during the RBC Heritage tournament.
This week’s Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands is the third of five events on the PGA Tour’s revamped schedule that is closed to the general public in a bid to help stem the spread of the virus.
The PGA Tour is expected to release full testing results at the end of the pre-tournament testing process on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
