Rory McIlroy said it would have been silly to cancel this week's Travelers Championship after Cameron Champ and two caddies tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the tournament.
McIlroy, who shot a seven-under 63 in the opening round, praised PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan for allowing the tournament to go ahead despite the positive tests.
"I thought Jay did a wonderful job yesterday, just relaying the information and where the PGA Tour stands and where we're going forward," the World No 1 told reporters.
"You hear one or two positive tests and people are panicking. I saw a couple of calls to shut the tournament down, which is silly from my point of view.
"There's been almost 3,000 tests administered and the percentage of positive tests, it's a quarter of a percent. I think, as a whole, it has been going really well. There's a couple of loose ends that we needed to tidy up."
Shane Lowry also got off to an impressive start with a four-under 66 in the first round at TPC River Highlands.
The lead is currently held by Mackenzie Hughes after the Canadian shot a 10-under 60 on day one of the tournament.
