Jack Nicklaus states he had coronavirus

Jack Nicklaus (Joe Dye, Wikimedia Commons)

Jack Nicklaus of Columbus, Ohio, the greatest golfer of all-time, tested positive for coronavirus in March and negative in late April, according to Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel on Sunday. Jack Nicklaus’s wife Barbara also tested positive for the disease. Both Jack and Barbara Nicklaus are 80 years of age.

Jack Nicklaus was very pleased that Barbara was asymptomatic. Jack’s symptoms included a sore throat and cough. It should be noted that Jack Nicklaus was an analyst for a short time on The Golf Channel’s coverage on Thursday, and did not seem to look particularly well. His throat still seemed a little raspy, and his eyes were watery. Even at the time watching the first round of the coverage, I wondered if he had coronavirus.

In the state of Ohio, there have been 74, 966 cases of coronavirus, and 20,720 active cases. There have also been 3178 deaths.

Jack Nicklaus made the announcement of their positive test during the fourth round of The Memorial on Sunday. The PGA event was founded by Jack Nicklaus in 1976, and is played annually on the Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, which is located 20 minutes northwest of Nicklaus’s hometown of Columbus.

After Jon Rahm of Spain won The Memorial, Nicklaus gave him a fist bump. Normally, he gives the champion a handshake.

Nicklaus has 18 major titles, the most of all-time. Nicklaus has three more titles than Tiger Woods, who is second on the list with 15. Nicklaus has won the Masters six times (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), the PGA Championship five times (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980), the U.S. Open four times (1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980), and the British Open thrice (1966, 1970, 1978).