Reigning champion believes protocols worth it to have fansZach Johnson pulls out of Royal St George’s after positive testShane Lowry, the defending Open champion, believes firm protocols imposed on players this week at Royal St George’s are worth it in exchange for large galleries. Up to 32,000 per day can attend the Open, which was postponed a year ago after
Coronavirus took hold.
Zach Johnson, the 2015 champion, and the South African Louis de Jager withdrew on Monday from the 149th Open after testing positive for Covid-19. Those in the field must remain in household bubbles of no more than four people with visits to restaurants, bars and supermarkets prohibited. Such rules are alien in particular to those based in the US but Lowry is perfectly content.