Sergio Garcia, the 40-year-old Spaniard who won the 2017 Masters, will not compete in the 2020 Masters this week at Augusta National.
Garcia on Monday withdrew from the Masters after testing positive for COVID-19. Augusta National made the announcement Monday and Garcia posted a message on his Twitter account.
Garcia, who was coming off a missed cut last week at the Vivint Houston Open, said after arriving home to Austin, Texas on Saturday said he began experiencing symptoms with a sore throat and cough. He said he is the only member of his family so far to test positive.
“After 21 years of not missing a major championship, I will sadly miss the Masters this week,” Garcia said on Twitter. “The important thing is that my family and I are feeling good. We’ll come back stronger and give the green jacket a go next April.”
This is the first major championship Garcia has missed since the 1999 US Open. Adam Scott, with 76 consecutive majors played, now has the longest active streak.
“On Saturday night when I got back from Houston, I started to notice an itchy throat and a slight cough,” Garcia said on Twitter. “These symptoms continued with me on Sunday, so I decided to get tested for COVID-19, as did my wife Angela. Fortunately, she tested negative but I did not.”
Garcia, now ranked 40th in the world, played with Tony Finau and Brian Gay during the first two rounds in Houston. The tournament was the first on the PGA Tour to allow fans on-site, with about 2,000 per day allowed at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Garcia won the Sanderson Farms Championship in the fall, his first PGA Tour title since the Masters. Garcia has missed the cut in each of his past two Masters since his win.
He’s the second player to have withdrawn from this Masters because of the virus. Joaquin Niemann pulled out last week following a positive test result. Garcia will not be replaced in the Masters field, which is now at 92 players.
