McIlroy: ‘You hear one or two positive tests and people start panicking’

Rory McIlroy reckons it would have been “silly” to shut down the Travelers Championship after “one or two” positive Covid-19 tests.
McIlroy said he supported the PGA Tour’s decision to go ahead with this week’s event at TPC River Highlands, and that as far as he was concerned, there was no need to panic.
Nick Watney became the first player to test positive during the RBC Heritage last week, and three further positive tests were recorded ahead of this week’s tour stop in Connecticut.
American golfer Cameron Champ, Graeme McDowell’s caddie Ken Comboy and Brooks Koepka’s caddie Ricky Elliott were all found to have the virus, and the three affected players were forced to withdraw from the tournament along with Koepka’s brother Chase and Webb Simpson, who had been in close contact with those testing positive.
The PGA Tour has come under intense scrutiny and criticism for the number of positive tests cropping up, but McIlroy doesn’t feel it’s deserved.
“You hear one or two positive tests and people are panicking,” said the World No 1, who opened his account at the Travelers Championship with a 63 to grab a share of second place.
“I saw a couple of calls to shut the tournament down, which is silly from my point of view.”
McIlroy said he doesn’t see the number of positive tests at this stage as a genuine cause for concern.
“There’s been almost 3 000 tests administered, and the percentage of positive tests… it’s under a quarter of a percent,” he added.
“I think as a whole it’s been going really well.
“There’s a couple of loose ends that we needed to tidy up and I think we’ve done that.”
Latest
-
News
On this day in 2008: Ryder Cup misery in Louisville for Nick Faldo’s Europe
Faldo was heavily criticised for his tactics in the closing singles.
-
Lucas Glover edges past Patrick Cantlay to claim back-to-back Tour wins
Glover, 43, ultimately claimed victory with a par on the 18th hole playoff after Cantlay found water off the tee.
-
Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle
American Vu added the Women’s Open title to her Chevron Championship.
-
Lucas Glover holds onto lead in Memphis with Tommy Fleetwood two strokes behind
Glover said it was a scrappy day but he got ‘a lot out of’ what he had.
-
Charley Hull shares lead with Lilia Vu heading into final day of Women’s Open
The pair are nine under for the tournament.
-
On This Day in 2007 – Tiger Woods claims 13th major with victory in Oklahoma
The world number one successfully defended his US PGA Championship title.
-
Ally Ewing out to emulate Brian Harman with Open win
The pair share their southern roots, passion for hunting and college teams named the Bulldogs.
-
Ally Ewing storms clear during second round of AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath
At 10 under par Ewing enjoyed a five-shot lead over compatriot Andrea Lee and Japan’s Minami Katsu.
-
Jordan Spieth leads by one after first round of FedEx St Jude Championship
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are the best of the British contingent, closing out Thursday on four under par.
-
Rory McIlroy delighted with Tiger Woods’ role on PGA Tour’s policy board
Woods, 47, has not played since withdrawing from April’s Masters and concedes his playing opportunities will be extremely limited going forward.