Masters 2020: Sergio Garcia tests positive for COVID-19, will miss tournament
Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this year’s tournament, according to Augusta National Golf Club. The club announced via Twitter that Garcia had informed them of the positive test and would be withdrawing.
Garcia’s victory in 2017, a sudden-death win over Justin Rose, was one of the tournament’s recent high points, validation for a player so often defined by what he hadn’t done, rather than what he had. He shed the “best never to win a major” title once and for all.
While Garcia had few successes since his Masters victory, there were signs he was sharpening his form. He won the Sanderson Farms Championship last month, his first PGA Tour victory since that 2017 Masters, and he has won three times on the European Tour since 2017.
On Saturday night after driving back from the Houston Open, I started feeling a bit of a sore throat and a cough. The symptoms stayed with me on Sunday morning so I decided to get tested for COVID-19 and so did my wife Angela. Thankfully she tested negative, but I didn’t.
— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) November 9, 2020
After 21 years of not missing a Major Championship, I will sadly miss @themasters this week. The important thing is that my family and I are feeling good. We’ll come back stronger and give the green jacket a go next April 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/Ofpq1hBGYu
— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) November 9, 2020
Augusta National is requiring COVID tests for all individuals, not just players, coming onto the grounds for this week’s Masters.
This will be Garcia’s first missed major since the 1999 U.S. Open.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jaybusbee or contact him with tips and story ideas at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.
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