Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, will miss his first major championship since 1999; Garcia: "I will sadly miss the Masters this week. 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."
Tuesday 10 November 2020 07:01, UK
Sergio Garcia has withdrawn from the Masters after testing positive for coronavirus.
Garcia will miss his first major championship since 1999 after he complained of feeling unwell over the weekend after he missed the cut at the Houston Open.
The Spaniard was still experiencing symptoms associated with Covid-19 on Sunday evening, prompting him to get himself a test which would come back as positive, although his wife, Angela, tested negative.
"On Saturday night after driving back from the Houston Open, I started feeling a bit of a sore throat and a cough," said Garcia on Twitter. "The symptoms stayed with me on Sunday morning so I decided to get tested for COVID-19 and so did my wife Angela. Thankfully she tested negative, but I didn't.
"After 21 years of not missing a Major Championship, I will sadly miss the Masters this week. 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."
Garcia claimed a sensational maiden major title at the 74th attempt after edging out Justin Rose in a play-off on a memorable final day at Augusta National in 2017.
The 40-year-old played in his 87th consecutive major at the US Open in September, a record among active players, but he will now be unable to tee up in a major for the first time since not qualifying for the US Open in 1999.
The record for consecutive major appearances now belongs to Australian Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion who will compete in his 76th major in a row this week.
This is the first time Garcia has missed a major championship since the 1999 U.S. Open. Adam Scott now has the longest active streak of consecutive majors played (assuming he plays this week), at 76 (last missed - 2001 U.S. Open).
Joaquin Niemann announced over the weekend that he would also have to miss the Masters after testing positive for coronavirus, meaning the field has now been reduced to 92.
Officials at Augusta National announced earlier on Monday that the "10-shot rule" will not be in operation when determining the halfway cut on Friday evening, with the top 50 players and ties making it through to the weekend.
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