Jason Day is playing by himself in Saturday's third round of the 2020 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. But why?
Day made the 36-hole cut on the number at 4-under 136, and he was scheduled to be paired in a threesome off the 10th tee at 8:09 a.m. with Roger Sloan and Rafa Cabrera Bello. With poor weather expected, tee times were bumped up and players were moved into threesomes.
Now, though, Jason Day is playing alone at 9:15 a.m. in the final group off No. 10.
That's because Day arrived to the facility on Saturday not feeling completely well, so he requested he get a COVID-19 test from the PGA Tour. In the interest of keeping him away from the rest of the field, the PGA Tour agreed to let Day tee off the 10th hole last and alone while he awaits the test results. His test returned negative, and he's now playing by himself.
The PGA Tour policy is typically a player would have to withdraw in this situation, and if he tested positive, then he would be eligible for the $100,000 stipend for PGA Tour players who receive a positive test at tournament site or during an event.
However, with tee times moved up and players bunched into threesomes, Day wouldn't have much time to wait for the test results. The decision Day would face, particularly considering Day's history of sickness, to withdraw or try to move up the leaderboard in the event he's negative, is weighty.
This probably isn't something the PGA Tour would want to do on a routine basis, but given the scheduling constraints of the day, this seemed the only potential compromise position: Day playing solo.
