Golf legend Jack Nicklaus, 80, reveals that he and his wife Barbara tested positive for coronavirus in March and had to isolate themselves at home for a month.
- Golf legend Jack Nicklaus has revealed he was sick with COVID-19 this year
- Nicklaus and his wife Barbara, both in their 80s, both tested positive for the virus.
- The couple isolated themselves in their South Florida home from March 13 to April 20.
- Nicklaus had a sore throat and a cough, while Barbara was asymptomatic.
- Their symptoms were relatively mild, considering that their age placed them both in the highest risk category for being seriously ill.
- Since then, both have tested positive for the coronavirus antibody.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus revealed Sunday that he was ill with COVID-19 earlier this year and that his wife Barbara had also tested positive for the virus.
At age 80, they are both in the highest risk category for being seriously ill with the disease, which has killed more than 140,000 people in the United States.
The 18-time top golf winner said he considered himself lucky to have had a relatively mild case.
Speaking during a weather delay in the final round of the Memorial Tournament he hosts, Nicklaus said that although he had symptoms of the disease, his wife was asymptomatic.
“Barbara was asymptomatic, had a sore throat and cough, it didn’t last long,” Nicklaus said in an interview with CBS. ‘We were very, very lucky, we were lucky’
The couple isolated themselves in their home in South Florida from March 13 to April 20.
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Golf legend Jack Nicklaus said Sunday that he was ill with COVID-19 in March, and his wife Barbara had also tested positive.
Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara watch during the final round of the Memorial Golf Tournament. Both tested positive for coronavirus in March
“Barbara and I are both 80 years old, which is a risky age,” he said. “Our hearts go out to the people who lost their lives and their families, we were just a couple of the lucky ones.”
Nicklaus said he had tested positive four times and his wife Barbara three. Since then, both have tested positive for the coronavirus antibody.
The Memorial has no spectators, and sightings of Nicklaus have been rare this week due to protocols on the PGA Tour’s return to golf amid the pandemic.
Nicklaus shared the news as the Memorial was emerging from a weather delay in the final round. The few times they have seen him, he wore a mask and kept his distance.
The golf legend spoke during a weather delay in the final round of the Memorial Tournament he hosts.
Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara watch the action during the nine-hole Nationwide Challenge Benefit game at Nationwide Children’s Hospital before the Memorial Tournament
Five-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods said he had known for some time that Nicklaus had tested positive.
“The fact that they got over it and that they are safe and here and healthy is good news for all of us who are a part of golf and who admire Jack and have been close to Barbara all these years.” Woods said.
Nicklaus had a remote press conference on Tuesday and said he would shake hands with whoever wins the Memorial, a tradition in the tournament he created.
The 18-time top golf winner, represented at the 2015 Masters Tournament, was in the highest risk category for being seriously ill with the disease.
Nicklaus is photographed during the 112th Open Championship on July 14, 1983
‘If you don’t want to shake my hand, that’s fine, I’ll give you a punch or a blow to the elbow, but I’m not going to give you COVID-19, so that’s … I wouldn’t put anyone in that position, “said the Tuesday.
He said again on CBS that he will shake hands if the winner wants it, but it would be fine if the winner doesn’t want it.
“We have the antibodies and, in theory, we cannot get or give them,” he said. “That’s a good position to be in.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a June 30 update, said it does not know if people recovering from COVID-19 can become infected again. He also said that even with a positive antibody test, “you still need to take preventative measures to protect yourself and others.”
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