Nicklaus and his wife Barbara, who both turned 80 recently, were housebound from March 13 until they "were done with it" around the date of April 20.

He mentioned the diagnosis during the CBS telecast of the Memorial tournament, but also stressed that his wife had no COVID-19 symptoms.

Nicklaus said he had a sore throat and a cough.

The couple stayed in their home in North Palm Beach in the American state of Florida.

The 18-time major championship winner said that he was lucky to not be worse off.

He said: "It didn't last very long, and we were very, very fortunate – very lucky.

"Barbara and I are both of the age, both of us 80-years-old, that is an at-risk age.

"Our hearts go out to the people who did lose their lives and their families, we were just a couple of the lucky ones."

Nicklaus, otherwise known as "The Golden Bear" for his blonde hair, is often regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, with his 18 majors from 1962 to 1986 yet to be beaten.

The legend was present at the Memorial – which had no spectators – and he shared the news when the competition was halted by a weather delay in the final round. 

Tiger Woods, the closest golfer to Nicklaus' major record with 15 wins, said he knew of the diagnosis for a while.

He said: "The fact that they got through it and they're safe and here and healthy, it's all good news for all of us who are a part of golf and who looked up to Jack and [have] been around Barbara all these years."

According to data from Imperial College London from March, the death rate for COVID-19 patients over the age of 80 was close to 10 per cent.

Nicklaus is not the first golfer to test positive for the virus, with three players on the Professional Golfers Association Tour testing positive since the return of the circuit in June.