LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA | Of all the ways Willie Mack III envisioned getting his first start on the PGA Tour – and those nights when he slept in his car while chasing a golf career gave him plenty of time to wonder – this wasn’t one of them.
Mack finds himself in the field in the Farmers Insurance Open this week because his friend Kamaiu Johnson, who had been granted a sponsor exemption, was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
Johnson’s disappointment was later overshadowed when he posted on social media that his mother had been taken to the hospital as she battles the virus while he is in quarantine.
“This is turning into a nightmare from hell. My mom has just been rush(ed) to the hospital not being able to breathe due to COVID-19. Pray for my family please,” Johnson posted late Tuesday.
Kamaiu Johnson, shown playing an APGA event in July, missed out on a chance at his first PGA Tour start this week when he tested positive for COVID-19. Photo: Keyur Khamar, PGA Tour via Getty Images
It would have been Johns...
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