COVID-19 prompts Danny Willett to withdraw from Players

Englishman tests positive ahead of this week’s PGA Tour event at TPC Sawgrass

Withdrew: Danny Willett, who tested positive for COVID-19, from this week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., the PGA Tour announced Tuesday. Willett, 33, of England, tested upon arrival at the course. Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, ranks No. 69 in the world. His status for the Masters on April 8-11 was uncertain. Willett was replaced in the field by American Kramer Hickok, the first alternate. Play begins Thursday in the $15 million event, the richest tournament in golf. It will be the third of four consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing.

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