January 26, 2020 | BY AAGD STAFF
“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? wrote Langston Hughes, an American poet, social activist, novelist and playwright. Professional golfer Kamaiu Johnson has withdrawn from this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines after testing positive for COVID-19.
According to the PGA Tour’s release, “Johnson will have the PGA Tour’s full support throughout his self-isolation period under CDC guidelines” and he will be replaced by Willie Mack III, a fellow APGA player.
Kamaiu, a Tallahassee, Fla., native who currently resides in Orlando, was prepared to make his PGA Tour debut this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines after earning a sponsor exemption for winning the 2020 APGA Tour Championship. However, he was forced to withdraw on Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
“To say that I’m disappointed would be a massive understatement. I’ve dreamed of playing on the PGA Tour for a long, long time, but health and safety come first,” Johnson said in the release.
Just 3 hours following his statement, Johnson would tweet an urgent plea to his fans: “This is turning into a nightmare from hell my mom has just been rush to the hospital not being able to breathe due to COVID 19. Pray for my family please.”
This is turning into a nightmare from hell my mom has just been rush to the hospital not being able to breathe due to COVID 19. Pray for my family please.
— Kamaiu Johnson (@KamaiuJohnson) January 27, 2021
RELATED: “It’s times like these where you have to keep focusing on the bigger picture at hand, and from my experience, a fork in the road often has an interesting way of leading to new opportunities. Getting a brief glimpse of the Farmers Insurance Open and what it would be like to play on the PGA Tour only further ignites the fire inside me to work that much harder to chase the dream of playing on Tour full-time,” he continued. “I am so thankful to Farmers Insurance and the entire team at the Century Club of San Diego for not only providing me with this opportunity, but also for all they’re doing to promote diversity in golf and beyond. I will be Willie Mack’s biggest fan this week. He’s a good friend and an incredibly talented player.”
This isn’t the end of my story.
— Kamaiu Johnson (@KamaiuJohnson) January 26, 2021
Thank you@WeAreFarmers @FarmersInsOpen pic.twitter.com/sLVaiPtwgD
