COVID-19 Causes Cauley To Withdraw

Former Crimson Tide golfer Bud Cauley is choosing to withdraw from this weekend's Travelers Championship due to one of his playing partners testing positive for COVID-19. Cauley has tested negative on two separate occasions but is opting to withdraw from the tournament out of respect to the rest of the field.

"I'm very thankful I have tested negative but have decided to withdraw out of an abundance of caution for my peers and everyone involved with the tournament," said Cauley.

His first round playing partner, Denny McCarthy, tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling unusually fatigued after the round and into the evening on Thursday. He is the second golfer to test positive this week and the third overall since the PGA Tour has restarted, joining Nick Watney and Cameron Champ.

Cauley shot a 69 in the first round, making three birdies while sustaining two bogies. He joins Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka in withdrawing from the tournament. McDowell and Koepka chose not to play because their caddies, Ken Comboy and Rickey Elliot, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.

In total 2,757 people associated with the PGA tour have been tested for COVID-19 in the last three weeks with seven positive tests.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the situation Wednesday. He made adjustments to the the health and safety plans and asked all the PGA Tour members and employees to commit themselves to enforcing the policies. Monahan threatened serious repercussions for those not adhering to the health and safety procedures.

The PGA Tour is in Detroit, Michigan next week for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. It is unclear if Cauley will be competing or not.