SYLVANIA, Ohio – Perrine Delacour withdrew from the Marathon LPGA Classic after her caddie tested positive on Aug. 2 for COVID-19. Delacour, who tested negative, must quarantine for 14 days because she was deemed a close contact. She won’t be tested again for two weeks.
“I asked them if I could do another test in the next few days,” said Delacour. “They said no, you have to wait 14 days.”
Delacour said her caddie, meanwhile, got tested again for COVID-19 on Aug. 4, and this time received a negative result. He tested for a third time on Friday and expects to get the results on Saturday. The caddie’s 10-day quarantine would end on Aug. 12, should his third test come back negative and doctors clear him.
“Both of us don’t have any symptoms,” said Delacour. “We both feel good.”
Delacour will miss the LPGA’s direct charter flight that leaves Sunday night for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. She’ll miss the tournament, too. The earliest she could fly out now is Aug. 16, which would put her on the ground on Monday, Aug. 17, for the start of the AIG Women’s Open week at Royal Troon. It will be Delacour’s first Women’s Open. Right now, flying to Scotland on her own costs roughly $1,000 more than the cost of the charter.
Both Delacour and her caddie will each receive $5,000 from the tour to help cover the costs of quarantine and potential lost earnings. Delacour, 26, has competed in four events on the LPGA in 2020. She finished third at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and tied for 16th at both the ISPS Handa Vic Open and last week’s Drive On LPGA Championship. She currently ranks 10th on the money list with $113,516.
The LPGA had a 166-day break in between events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was playing good golf,” said Delacour, “so I’m losing a lot of money.”
If her caddie’s quarantine can end 10 days after having a positive test, with potentially two subsequent negative tests within that time frame, Delacour doesn’t understand why she can’t keep getting tested at the same time to see if she’s still negative. Why is her quarantine even longer?
“The way they handled the situation drives me a little crazy,” said Dilator. “We all think that (his) was a false-positive.”
LPGA Chief Tour Operations Officer Heather Daly-Donofrio said the tour’s protocols are based on CDC guidance and the advice of a medical director.
“She was deemed a close contact,” said Daly-Donofrio. “Close contact under CDC, it’s a 14-day quarantine due to the incubation period of the virus.”
This marks the LPGA’s second week back since mid-February. A total of 334 tests were administered during pre-travel testing and early-week testing ahead of the Marathon LPGA Classic. On Wednesday, the LPGA announced that in addition to Delacour’s caddie, the caddie of Allie White tested positive and began his 10-day quarantine. White, who tested negative, also withdrew and began a 14-day quarantine.
Delacour, who doesn’t have any sponsors, typically stays with a host family when she’s in town for the Marathon, and they’re letting her stay on through the quarantine. They’ve even cut the backyard short for her so that she can at least practice wedge shots. During quarantine, she’s not allowed to practice at any nearby courses.
“I feel it’s unfair that I’m going to the British after only practicing 80-yard shots,” she said.
[lawrence-related id=778059241,778058914,778058726]