Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press
Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus revealed Sunday that he and his wife Barbara were diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, but had only mild symptoms.
“We were very lucky,” he said, according to Scott Rabalais of Lawyer.
Nicklaus specified that Barbara was asymptomatic, while he had both sore throat and cough that “didn’t last long” (h / t Ryan Lavner from the golf channel). He and his wife turned 80 this year.
In March, Nicklaus shared messages on social media urging people to take the coronavirus seriously and praising the precautions taken by the PGA Tour at the time:
Jack nicklaus @ @Jacknicklaus
My friends, please be safe, be smart and stay healthy. https://t.co/LrPD7gRCY0
Rick Scott @ @SenRickScott
My friend @jacknicklaus wanted to share an important message: we must be smart, be safe, be careful where we go. DON’T HAVE A CHANCE. Our older adults are the most vulnerable population, but young people can become infected and transmit the virus. #CoronaVirusUpdates https://t.co/gcrV6rNtRQ
Earlier this week, however, Nicklaus said he hoped to continue the tradition of shaking hands with this weekend’s Memorial Tournament winner, even amid the coronavirus pandemic (h / t Bob Harig from ESPN):
“I’m going to shake your hand. I’m going to walk over there and shake your hand. If you don’t want to shake my hand, that’s fine. I’ll give you a punch or an elbow, but I’m not going to give you COVID-19, so that wouldn’t put No one in that position would not, and if they were in danger of doing so, they would not shake hands.
“And by the way, I also like to shake hands with them. I think it’s a great tradition, but it was as fun for me as I hope it will be for them.”
On Sunday Nicklaus said in the CBS broadcast during a weather delay that “if the winner wants to shake hands, that’s fine, [but] I won’t put him in that position. “
Nicklaus founded the tournament, designed the course on which it is played at Muirfield Village Golf Club and won it twice. That handshake after the last hole on Sunday had become a basic tradition of the event, although the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic cast doubt on the wisdom of continuing it this year.
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