DUBLIN, Ohio – The COVID-19 global pandemic created an awkward situation Saturday for the third round of the Memorial.
Not one, not two, not three, but four players went out as singles because of the PGA Tour’s clarification to its health and safety plan last week. The amplification now allows players who continue to test positive for COVID to compete if certain conditions are met.
According to the CDC’s protocols dealing with symptoms, a player who tested positive for the virus but then went into isolation for at least 10 days since they first had symptoms and then went 72 hours without any respiratory or fever issues could return to competition, even if they test positive for the coronavirus.
Three players – Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Denny McCarthy – fall into this category. In the first two rounds, out of an abundance of caution, Frittelli played with Graeme McDowell because McDowell’s caddie fell into this category, too. English and McCarthy played together while all others played in threesomes.
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But when Frittelli, English and McCarthy weren’t tied after 36 holes, and out of fairness to them and the field, they went out for the third round at the same time as others with the same score. But they went out as singles – again out of an abundance of caution – with McCarthy starting at 9:20 a.m., English at 11:20 a.m. and Frittelli at 12:20 p.m.
All three played behind and in front of twosomes – which forced adjustments.
“It was strange,” English said after a 2-over-par 74. “I was trying to slow down as much as possible out there, and I still probably played in over 4 hours, 20 minutes as a onesome. The course was hard; gave me a little extra time to figure out. The wind was swirling a little bit. Obviously had some tough putts out here. It was OK. I did the best I could with the situation.
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“It was fun. It would really suck if you didn’t get along with your caddie very well or you were on bad terms. But we had a good time out there. You’ve got a lot of time to talk out there and tell stories.”
He’ll have time to do it again Sunday. English tested positive Saturday morning and he’ll have to play as a onesome in the final round.
So, too, will Frittelli. He tested positive Saturday.
“I have a friend in Japan, I’ve mentioned it before, he’s been a month in and he still hasn’t tested negative,” Frittelli said. “I’m ready for the long haul here, and I’ll be playing next week. Hopefully I can get that test sooner rather than later. But I’m not worried, I’m keep testing and we’ll wait and see.
As for his round, Frittelli wasn’t thrown one bit.
“It was just like golf is Monday through Friday at my home golf club, just normal golf,” he said. “It was quite nice. I kept a nice pace. I didn’t really touch the guys in front of me, just managed to stay about a half a hole back and waited on a couple tee boxes, but it was actually quite nice pacing, to be honest.”
Reed also played solo
Patrick Reed, who has not tested positive for the coronavirus, also played as a single because of the alterations to the pairings. He was first off at Muirfield Village Golf Club at 7:30 a.m. local time. He played in three hours, five minutes.
“It was interesting today,” Reed said after his 70. “I thought it was going to kind of be hard to get into a rhythm because your caddie is getting the divots, cleaning the clubs, if you’re in a bunker, having to rake bunkers, getting flags, stuff like that, so you almost feel like your caddie is going to be behind and lagging all day.
“But I was able to sit down and talk with my coach and talk with Kessler (Karain, his caddie) kind of before going into today, all right, what’s our kind of game plan to keep us at a good rhythm where none of us are kind of lagging behind. And so we were able to figure that out. And it was weird; felt like a practice round out there. You’re out there being a single, no fans allowed, so it’s just you, your walking score, Kessler and that’s about it. It was kind of one of those when you hit a shot, maybe we’ll try this shot, you want to go and hit another golf ball, but you can’t. It was interesting.”
McCarthy did some fine work through 14 holes but then said he “stumbled” in with double bogeys on the 15 and 16 and a bogey on 17. He shot 76. But his spirits improved when he was told after the round his test from Friday came back negative and he can now play in a twosome on Sunday.
“It was good, especially since the doctor thought it could go on for a little while,” McCarthy said. “Obviously it was pretty odd today going out as a onesome. It’s been a weird couple weeks, but obviously glad to hear the news. Glad to get back to a somewhat normal atmosphere in this crazy time.
“It wasn’t that different. Harris and I played as a twosome behind threesomes the last few days, so if anything I’d say it just gives us a little more time to slow down, relax, worry about my game a little more. I can spend an extra minute or two here and there on the green, and I can just go about my business.”
But it’s not business as usual. Frittelli, English and McCarthy said they’ve felt like outcasts on the PGA Tour since testing positive.
“Nobody really wants to get close to you or whatnot. I understand it,” English said. “This virus is still so new and I’m about three weeks out of a positive test in Detroit, so I feel like I’ve fully recovered. I haven’t played golf in a long time. Spent 10 days on the couch. The game was a little rusty but I feel like I’m fighting through it and in a pretty good spot to play this week.”
McCarthy said “it’s been tough.”
“Obviously guys not really wanting to be around me,” he said. “Not being able to be in the locker room, dining area, not being able to sit with guys, just kind of being by myself, making sure I’m doing everything right, not really going anywhere in public, getting a lot of takeout, getting food from here and bringing it back to my hotel, so it’s been a little lonely, but it is what it is.
“I felt like I’ve dealt with it just fine and I’ve done a good job of putting that aside and focusing on my golf game.”
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