Professional golfer tests positive for coronavirus

A PGA Tour Latinoamerica player is the first known professional golfer to test positive for the coronavirus.

In a release late Wednesday, the PGA Tour said Victor Lange has contracted COVID-19, the disease at the center of a global pandemic.

Lange, a South Africa native who played collegiately at Louisiana Tech, was tested on Sunday and received his diagnosis on Tuesday, the release said. He had finished play in the Estrella del Mar Open in Mazatlan, Mexico, a week before his test, and the tournament was his lone PGA Tour Latinoamerica event this year.

“In speaking with Victor, thankfully, he has no symptoms and is expected to make a full recovery,” the release said. “We have offered our support as he recovers under quarantine and with medical supervision at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Victor has relayed his gratitude toward fellow players and fans who have offered words of concern and encouragement.”

Lange left Mazatlan the day after the tournament to return to South Africa, the release said, and he was tested after taking a friend to a doctor’s office for a non-COVID-19 appointment. The release said the PGA Tour would alert those he may have come in contact with.

Last Thursday, four days after the end of the Estrella del Mar Open, the PGA Tour announced that it would postpone or cancel events across all of its tours through April 5 due to the outbreak, and the next day, the Augusta National Golf Club postponed the Masters. On Tuesday, the PGA Tour said it was canceling an additional four weeks of events, and the PGA of America said it was postponing the PGA Championship, set for May 14-17 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

“We appreciate Victor’s prompt disclosure of his diagnosis, which allows the PGA Tour to not only alert those he may have come in contact with during his lone PGA Tour Latinoamerica start this season,” the release said, “but also provides an opportunity to remind fans of the critical need to follow current recommendations and mandates to protect others, particularly those with underlying health conditions and the elderly.”

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