Ian Poulter Shares Brutal Coronavirus Test Experience

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 June 2020

PGA Tour players must return negative Covid-19 tests in order to play

Ian Poulter Shares Brutal Coronavirus Test Experience

The PGA Tour is now into its second week back after the Coronavirus break with Harbour Town hosting the RBC Heritage.

It's a seriously strong field with all of the world's top five competition, but each and every player must be tested for Covid-19 before teeing it up. Players undergo three tests before play, which are a nasal swab, a temperature test and a questionnaire.

One player in the field is Ian Poulter, who has finished T10, T7, T11 the last three years at Harbour Town, and the Ryder Cup legend shared his experience of the Coronavirus test with a video on social media.

Poulter tweeted out a video of his nasal test and it looks fairly brutal - this one is not for the faint-hearted.

The 44-year-old wrote, "Have you ever wondered what Corona Virus testing in sport looks like...bet you don’t want to know what it feels like!"

Watch: Ian Poulter Shares Brutal Coronavirus Test Experience -

The Englishman finished T29th last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge and has not missed a cut at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event since The Open Championship last July.

He is currently 60th in the world.

This week's tournament is the first of five PGA Tour events back that will not feature on-site crowds.

Fans are set to return at next month's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

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Elliott Heath is our Senior Staff Writer and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news, features, courses and travel sections as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Elliott has interviewed some huge names in the golf world including Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Bernd Wiesberger and Scotty Cameron as well as a number of professionals on the DP World and PGA Tours. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as four Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays at West Byfleet Golf Club in Surrey, where his handicap index floats anywhere between 2-6. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!

Elliott is currently playing:

Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max

Hybrid: TaylorMade SIM Max

Irons: Mizuno MP5 4-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x