The PGA Tour must learn a lesson from Nick Watney’s positive COVID-19 test

The PGA Tour didn’t handle the first positive COVID-19 test well.

The reaction to Nick Watney’s positive COVID-19 test on Friday among his fellow PGA Tour pros was clear and direct: it was only a matter of time.

News that Watney had to withdraw from the RBC Heritage before the second round swept through Harbour Town while the afternoon groups were in the midst of their rounds. Brooks Koepka heard about it while he was on the 17th hole; Rory McIlroy got a text message from Watney himself, apologizing after the two had a conversation on the practice green earlier in the day.

The bubble that the PGA Tour set up in order to play following a three-month hiatus—mandatory testing of every player and essential personnel before every tournament—was breached, and they didn’t react well. Watney traveled to Hilton Head Island privately and tested negative on Monday. On Friday, though, he began experiencing symptoms and contacted a physician, who administered the test. He should’ve never been allowed back on the course while awaiting the results of the day. The fact that he was there, mingling with other players and potentially spreading the virus, is a lesson the tour has to take away from this.

Another lesson is transparency. The statement the PGA Tour released upon confirming the news read that Watney found out he was positive before going to the course on Friday. That was later proven to be false, as several players, including Koepka and McIlroy, interacted with him. He practiced on the range next to Si Woo Kim before leaving. His caddie, Tony Navarro, and his playing partners on Thursday, Vaughn Taylor and Luke List, are also being monitored.

The PGA Tour has tournaments scheduled every week through the middle of September. While the NBA and NHL prepare to enter their respective bubbles and Major League Baseball argues over money, the tour appeared to make it work and return last week before any of them. But it was shown on Friday that there are weak points in the protocol that must be addressed if the rest of the schedule is going to go off as planned.

Players remain confident in PGA Tour’s protocols

There will be more positive tests going forward. The players, however, are adamant that the tour has put in place proper protocols to deal with them. “First of all, hope Nick’s doing well and recovering. The whole plan put in place was not if, but when somebody tests positive what’s the protocol and what’s the next steps,” Jordan Spieth said following his second round. “So I feel confident just from being on those phone calls in what the PGA Tour is going to do going forward here and hopefully contact tracing doesn’t lead to anyone testing positive within the bubble.”

Koepka says he encountered Watney upon arriving at Harbour Town on Friday morning. “I mean, I saw him this morning. I was right next to him in the parking lot,” he said. And while he wishes Watney a speedy recovery, he couldn’t hide his concern that the virus could spread.

“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,” he said. “We’ll see what happens…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.”

The PGA Tour will avert potential disaster if no one else tests positive. They found out what it’s like to play during a pandemic and what they need to do next time. Because the players aren’t going to pull themselves out of a tournament. “If I was in your position I probably would’ve been here too,” McIlroy revealed he wrote in a text message to Watney.

The tour has to protect the players from themselves, and that starts with taking a lesson from what happened on Friday. If they don’t, and an outbreak hits the tour, they might have to shut things down again, just as they did in March.