Jack Nicklaus, the 18-time golf major winner, said on Sunday that he was ill with COVID-19 earlier this year and his wife Barbara had also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Lisa Bernhard produced this report.
Golf legend Nicklaus said he had COVID-19
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus said on Sunday that he contracted COVID-19 earlier this year and that his wife Barbara had also tested positive for the coronavirus.
At 80 years old, Nicklaus is in a high-risk category for becoming seriously ill with the disease.
He said he considered himself lucky to have come through with a relatively mild case.
Speaking during a weather delay in final round play of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio that he hosts, Nicklaus said that while he had symptoms of the illness, his wife was asymptomatic.
The couple self-isolated at their home in south Florida from March 13 to April 20.
Nicklaus said that he had tested positive four times and his wife Barbara three.
Both have since tested positive for the coronavirus antibody.
While the Centers for Disease Control has advised people not to shake hands with others during the pandemic, Nicklaus said last week that he hoped to continue the tradition of shaking the winner’s hand on the 18th green.
He said on Sunday that he was still willing to shake hands but would leave it up to the winner to decide.