NCAA Golfers Coaches and Players Affected by Unknown Virus

It’s not very often that serious golfers miss out on a big tournament because of an illness but that was the case this week in Austin, Texas. And not only did this affect one golfer, but almost all participants in the event.

According to the University of Texas, which was hosting a women’s golf NCAA regional this week, at least nine participants in the regional were struck with an illness that made them too sick to participate at a high level in the tournament. The NCAA had no comment on the issue for now but informed the media that they were looking into the matter.

Players weren’t the only one affected by this disease either, as many assistant coaches were also hit with the sickness.

East Carolina was hit the hardest, with three players being unable to participate, with Miami and Arkansas also having players affected. Baylor reported that they had an assistant coach who wasn’t feeling well and one coach from Florida even had to check into the hospital.

The Texas Longhorns logo is shown before play between the Texas…

The Texas Longhorns logo is shown before play between the Texas Longhorns and the North Texas Eagles on September 2, 2006 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns defeated the Eagles… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The craziest part of this story is that no one knows exactly what the illness is and how it will affect each person. “It’s pretty crazy,” Florida Head Coach Emily Glaser said. “No one really knows what it is or the cause. Lots of speculation.” The most information that we have about the issue is that the virus has affected hundreds of people in the Austin, Texas area over the past few weeks.

Despite how difficult this issue has been to deal with for all teams, players are expected to have a quick recovery time. According to the a person with the University of Texas athletic department, they are expecting all players to be back for the final round. This is too little too late for East Carolina, however, because the disease forced the team to be disqualified for not filling a full team.

This is an odd situation for golfers to be in and if you’re playing in the Austin area, make sure you wash your hands and keep clean. We hope for a speedy recovery and strong finish to the tournament by all the players affected this week by the virus.

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