SANDWICH, England — COVID-19 travel issues have forced two of the current top names in golf to pull out of The Open Championship.
PGATour.com reports that Masters champs Hideki Matsuyama and Bubba Watson have both withdrawn from the event.
Matsuyama holds the honor of being the first male player from Japan to win a major championship with the April Masters tournament in Augusta. Meanwhile, Watson is a two-time winner of the prestigious tournament.
According to PGATour.com, Watson withdrew because he was identified as having close contact with someone with COVID-19. Matsuyama tested positive prior to the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 2.
He is said to be symptom-free but has been in quarantine since the diagnosis and continues to test positive. Matsuyama would need a negative test to enter the UK.
Watson, meanwhile, said on social media that even though he is vaccinated and passed pre-travel tests, his exposure left him uncomfortable with the idea of possibly exposing others to the virus unknowingly while traveling.