DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus revealed on Sunday during the CBS television broadcast of the Memorial that he and his wife tested positive for coronavirus at the start of the pandemic.
At the beginning of the year, Nicklaus and his wife Barbara turned 80 a month.
He said his wife had no COVID-19 symptoms, while Nicklaus had a sore throat and cough. Nicklaus said he was at home in North Palm Beach, Florida, from March 13 “until we finished” on April 20 or so.
“It didn’t last very long, and we were very, very lucky, very lucky,” said Nicklaus. “Barbara and I are both an age, both 80 years old, an age at risk. Our hearts go to the people who lost their lives and their families. We were just a lucky couple.”
The Memorial has no spectators and Nicklaus sightings have been rare this week due to the protocols of the return of the PGA Tour to golf amid the pandemic.
Nicklaus shared the news when Memorial was coming out of a delay in the final round. The few times he was seen, he wore a mask and kept his distance.
Five-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods said he had known for a long time that Nicklaus had tested positive.
“Having passed it and being safe here and in good health is good news for all of us who are part of golf and have watched Jack and [have] I’ve been around Barbara all these years, “said Woods.
Nicklaus held a remote press conference Tuesday and said he would shake hands with anyone who won the Memorial, a tradition at the tournament he created.
“If they don’t want to shake my hand, okay, I’ll punch or elbow them, but I’m not going to give them COVID-19, so it’s … I wouldn’t let anyone put them in that position,” he said Tuesday.
He told CBS again that he will shake hands if the winner wants it, but it would be fine if the winner doesn’t.
“We have antibodies and theoretically we can’t get them and we can’t give them,” he said. “It’s a nice location to be in.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in an update dated June 30, said they did not know if people recovering from COVID-19 could be infected again. He also said that even with a positive antibody test, “you should still take preventive measures to protect yourself and others.”
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