Golf: Ryder Cup captain Harrington tests positive for COVID-19

NEW YORK: Padraig Harrington, who will captain Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in September, has tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrawn from this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday (Feb 9).

The 49-year-old Harrington, who missed the cut at last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open after carding rounds of 71 and 73, must self-isolate before he can return to competition, the PGA Tour said in a statement.

The Irishman, who won back-to-back British Opens from 2007 before winning his third major at the 2008 PGA Championship, was appointed Europe's Ryder Cup captain in 2019.

His debut as captain in the hotly-contested biennial team competition between the United States and Europe, was originally scheduled to be last September but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Ryder Cup will take place from Sep 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.