World’s No. 4 golfer Koepka withdraws from tournament after caddie tests positive for COVID-19

Brooks Koepka, the world’s fourth-ranked professional golfer, announced Wednesday he was withdrawing from this week’s Travelers Championship after caddie Ricky Elliott tested positive for COVID-19.

“I’m going to pull out to protect everybody else. I think it’s the right thing to do,” Koepka told Golfweek. “I don’t want to risk anyone’s life if they have respiratory issues or underlying conditions. The only way this Tour can continue is if guys to do this sort of thing and be proactive about it.”

Koepka is the third golfer to withdraw from the tournament, which is being held at the TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. Cameron Champ and Graeme McDowell withdrew earlier this week.

Champ tested positive, while McDowell backed out after his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive.

Koepka played a practice round with McDowell earlier this week, Golfweek reported. Koepka was tested and his results came back negative on Wednesday. The tournament begins Thursday. 

The news comes as several professional baseball and football players have tested positive for COVID-19 as those sports look to begin regular season competition in late July and early September, respectively.

The PGA Tour resumed two weeks ago with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. The tournament, broadcast on CBS, was the most-watched final round in 16 years.

The final round averaged nearly 3.1 million viewers, a 50 percent increase from 2019.