The Irish golfers in the field for this week's Joburg Open have pulled out of the tournament following the Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa.

Jonathan Caldwell, Niall Kearney, Paul Dunne and Cormac Sharvin were in the field for the first event of the new DP World Tour season.

Before withdrawing, Kearney was one under par, Caldwell was even par, Dunne was three over and Sharvin was seven over par.

The Joburg Open is continuing as normal.

It's understood the Irish golfers are to return home as soon as possible with flights out of South Africa at a premium against the backdrop of a UK travel ban following the emergence of a new variant of the virus in South Africa.

A number of English and Scottish players have also ended their involvement in the tournament.

Munster are currently in Pretoria ahead of a United Rugby Championship match against the Bulls tomorrow and are then due to travel to Johannesburg to play the Lions.