Before arriving at the tournament at the Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina, Watney had indicated he had symptoms similar to the illness and tested positive after a consultation with a physician.

Watney is the first member of the PGA Tour to test positive for COVID-19 since it restarted earlier this month.

In a statement, the PGA Tour said Watney "will have the PGA Tour's full support throughout his self-isolation and recovery period under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines".

"For the health and well-being of all associated with the tournament and those within the community, the Tour has begun implementing its response plan in consultation with medical experts including working with those who may have had close contact with Nick," the PGA Tour added.

Watney had travelled privately to Hilton Head Island for the tournament, was not on the PGA Tour chartered flight and had tested negatively upon arrival.

A total of 369 individuals, including players, caddies and personnel, were tested ahead of the tournament with no positive results showing.

At the time of his withdrawal prior to the second round, Watney was near the back of the field on three over par.

There have been more than 2.29 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, resulting in the deaths of over 121,000 people.

Watney's fellow American Webb Simpson leads the field on 12 under par.

The world number nine remains one of the contenders for one of the four spots on the US Olympic team and sits one shot ahead of fellow American Bryson DeChambeau.

World number one Rory McIlroy is close to the cut-off on five under par, but had a great second day to keep himself in the mix, while Spain's Jon Rahm sits even closer to being cut on four under par.

Tiger Woods, who remains with an outside opportunity of making the US Olympic team, has yet to feature since the return of golf earlier this month.