Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia has pulled out of this week's golfing Major, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Garcia began experiencing a sore throat and a cough on the weekend, while he was driving back from the Houston Open, where he missed the cut.
Garcia was tested on Monday (NZ time), where it was discovered he had contracted coronavirus.
"After 21 years of not missing a Major Championship, I will sadly miss @themasters this week," the 40-year-old Spaniard tweets.
"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."
The 11-time PGA Tour winner says his wife tested negative for COVID-19, which has infected more than 10 million people in the United States, the country with the highest known number of cases.
The Masters was postponed from April to November due to the pandemic, which hit the professional sports calendar and forced the PGA Tour into hiatus for several weeks.
The Masters, which Garcia won in 2017 to claim his only Major, begins at Augusta National on Thursday.
Reuters
