Rory struts into the weekend with a shot at glory

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Vaughn Taylor and Luke List got the news as they were making the turn on Friday. Nick Watney, who had played with them during the first round of the RBC Heritage, had tested positive for the coronavirus. He is the first PGA TOUR player to test positive since competition resumed last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge after a three-month break due to COVID-19. Clay Neely, a PGA TOUR rules official, stopped the twosome to explain that was why Watney had withdrawn prior to their 12:21 p.m. tee time. The 39-year-old had tested negative upon arrival in Hilton Head but felt minor symptoms on Friday morning and after consulting with a doctor, Watney was tested for a second time which resulted in the positive test. According to protocols put in place by the TOUR, Watney – who was allowed on the grounds at Harbour Town until receiving his test results — will self-isolate and recover as per CDC guidelines and there will be contact tracing to make sure the virus is contained. Jordan Spieth, who is on the PGA TOUR Policy Board, was part of the extensive planning for just such an eventuality. “The whole plan put in place was, not if, but when somebody tests positive, what’s the protocol, and what are the next steps?” Spieth said. “So, I feel confident, just in being on those phone calls, in what the PGA TOUR’s going to do going forward here, and hopefully contact tracing doesn’t lead to anybody else testing positive within the bubble.” Taylor and List said that they would be tested again, as would their caddies. A total of 369 people – players, caddies and other essential personnel – were tested prior to the start of the tournament and all were negative. There were also no positive tests at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week. “I was a little shocked, to be honest,” Taylor said. “Heart started racing, got a little nervous. Just hope Nick’s doing well and we get through this.” Taylor and List, who won the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, said it was hard not to think about Watney and the positive test as the round wore on. Both are in the field for the Travelers Championship – as long as both test negative. After finishing his round of 69 that left him 6 under for the tournament, Taylor said he was “little nervous” but he does not feel ill. He did not recall being in close proximity to Watney on Thursday. “We kept our space,” he said. “We didn’t shake hands. Right after the round, I washed my hands. Nick never coughed or sneezed. So, I feel comfortable.” Watney, who missed the cut last week and did not fly on the PGA TOUR charter to Hilton Head from Dallas, was on the property at Harbour Town Friday morning. Rory McIlroy talked to him on the putting green before the Northern Irishman teed off – and had a text from Watney when he finished his round. “But we were at a distance,” McIlroy said. “He was just saying, look, I hope I didn’t get too close to you. He feels badly that he was here today at the golf course. I said, look, it’s fine. You never know. “So, I said to him, if I was in your position, I probably would have been here too. Look, at this point, you just have to concentrate on getting better and getting healthy.” McIlroy said he appreciated the text and feels badly for Watney, who obviously is concerned about who he might have exposed. “Look, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic,” McIlroy said. “Until this thing’s over, we all just have to stay vigilant and keep your distance and wear our masks if we’re going out in public and keep washing our hands.” The No. 1 player in the world said he still feels “very safe” and comfortable with the protocols the PGA TOUR has put in place that include frequent testing and the charter flights between tournament sites. “I read a thing today that — look, by the end of the year, there’s going to be 200,000 deaths in the U.S. alone from COVID-19,” McIlroy said. “So, to think that us on the PGA TOUR, none of us were going to get it was very — I don’t think anyone thought that. “I think the consensus was someone is going to get it at some point, and Nick’s the one that’s got it, and he’s self-isolating and doing what he has to do.” Brooks Koepka, who found out about Watney’s positive test on the 17th hole, has traveled with a chef and essentially a private gym while staying in a private residence each of the last two weeks. He said he’s “got everybody on lockdown” and hasn’t had to leave either house since he got to Fort Worth, Texas, last week. “We’re doing what we can as far as players, the TOUR — everybody’s doing what they can to make it safe for us, for everybody,” said Koepka, who saw Watney in the parking lot on Friday morning. “We’ll see what happens. Obviously, testing us every week, and we’re filling out surveys every day. “We’ve got to see what happens. Hopefully — it’s unfortunate Nick got it, but at the same time, hopefully, it stays with just him and doesn’t spread because I think we’ll have a big issue on our hands if it keeps going as the weeks continue.”

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The PGA TOUR hit the sun in the Dominican Republic at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and it was Hudson Swafford who came away with a great victory. Welcome to the Monday Finish where we give you the lowdown on what you might have missed as the 33-year-old claimed the second TOUR victory of his career and moved to second in the FedExCup standings. 1. Hudson Swafford did what can be very tough to do by impressively turning the tide of negative momentum. Swafford was cruising early on Sunday and at one point led by four shots. But any thought of a tropical cruise down the back nine was thrown away when he chalked up a double bogey and bogey to fall back into a tie for top spot. Invariably that sort of sudden jolt and slide is hard to turn around in a short space of time but Swafford took stock with two to play and stepped up with some clutch moments. He hit a brilliant shot into the 17th to set up a go ahead birdie and after leaving meat on the bone with a birdie attempt on the last, calmly slotted the testing par putt for the victory. Get the low down here. 2. The top 10 was a great mix of stories to keep an eye on in coming weeks AND when we return to the D.R. for the second time this season. They may not have won in the D.R. but those who fell just a little short could certainly press for victories in the coming weeks and of course when the tournament returns to its traditional slot in March. Runner-up went to Tyler McCumber who opened with a 7-under 65 to share the first-round lead. He clearly likes the course having shared the 54-hole lead there on TOUR debut in 2018. A closing 66, including a clutch long birdie on the last hole, gave him a chance for the win. Mackenzie Hughes is another who likes the course having now been T2 in 2018 and third this week. Nate Lashley won when the event was part of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule and fourth this time around. Adam Long fell back from the 54-hole lead to be fifth but was also in the mix at Winged Foot so keep an eye on his form and James Hahn and Cameron Percy were now in the mix at both the season opening Safeway Open and here in the Dominican Republic. Anirban Lahiri had his first top 10 finish since 2017. 3. Zalatoris does it again. Will Zalatoris is in rare form. In 16 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, his worst result is a T34 and his last 11 starts on that TOUR have all been inside the top 20, including a win. He kept that streak alive with a T6 at the U.S. Open and was T8 in Corales Puntacana. He has quickly become a candidate for promotion to the PGA TOUR through non-member points. He's slated to play the next two weeks at Sanderson Farms Championship and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. If he maintains the rage we will likely see a lot more of him. 4. Justin Suh is coming. The two-time All-American is the odd man out when it comes to college prospects from his era making waves on the PGA TOUR. While Collin Morikawa, Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland have already all won on the TOUR - with Morikawa winning a major and Wolff being runner up in another - Suh is still finding his way. There is most certainly no disgrace in his progression though and with a troublesome wrist complaint now seemingly behind him the 23-year-old is starting to pop up on leaderboards. A T14 finish this week is further proof he can match it in the big leagues. 5. There was a Dominican Republic Golf best finish. Willy Pumarol, the lone Dominican to advance to the weekend, finished T65. It was the best finish in the history of the event by a player from the Dominican Republic besting Julio Santos who set the mark at T73 in 2018 before beating it with a T69 in 2019. Let's hope come March more improvement can be made. TOUR TOP 10 Bryson DeChambeau's U.S. Open win is still enough to hold down the top spot but Hudson Swafford has rocketed to the second spot following his win this week.Swafford jumped 98 spots with his win. Other new faces in the top 10 this week include Tyler McCumber, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Long and James Hahn. The regular season top 10 will receive bonuses for their efforts.

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The Masters, the major known as much for the roars of the crowd as the raw beauty of Augusta National, will be on mute this year. The club decided Wednesday there will be no spectators. That means all three majors in this year of COVID-19 will not have fans, and the silence figures to be most deafening at Augusta National when the Masters is played Nov. 12-15. From Amen Corner all the way through the back nine, players can often figure out what’s happening with others just by listening. That will be missing this year, along with the azalea and dogwood blooms from having to move it from April. Golf is coming off its first major without fans last week at the PGA Championship. The U.S. Open, moved from June to Sept. 17-20 because of the pandemic, previously announced it won’t have spectators at Winged Foot. The Open Championship announced in April it would be canceled this year.

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