DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus revealed Sunday during the CBS telecast of the Memorial that he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus at the onset of the pandemic.
Nicklaus and his wife, Barbara, turned 80 a month apart at the start of the year.
He said his wife had no COVID-19 symptoms, while Nicklaus had a sore throat and a cough. Nicklaus said they were home in North Palm Beach, Fla., from March 13 "until we were done with it" on about April 20.
"It didn't last very long, and we were very, very fortunate, very lucky," said Nicklaus, the founder and host of the Memorial. "Barbara and I are both of the age, both of us 80 years old, that is an at-risk age. … We were just a couple of the lucky ones."
The Memorial has no spectators, and Nicklaus sightings have been rare this week because of protocols in the PGA Tour's return to golf amid the pandemic. But he was there to greet winner Jon Rahm — with a fist-bump — behind the 18th green.
Nicklaus shared the news when the Memorial was coming out of a weather delay in the final round. The few times he had been seen, he was wearing a mask and keeping his distance.
"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," Tiger Woods said.
Associated Press
