US PGA Tour exploring possibility of May return without fans

Officials told players they will rely on guidance from health and government authorities before deciding on a resumption of play.

Published : Apr 11, 2020 11:43 IST , Los Angeles

A general view of the 17th green after the cancellation of The Players Championship and consecutive PGA Tour events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A general view of the 17th green after the cancellation of The Players Championship and consecutive PGA Tour events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
lightbox-info

A general view of the 17th green after the cancellation of The Players Championship and consecutive PGA Tour events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US PGA Tour is considering various scenarios to a return to competition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including playing some events without fans, Golf Digest reported Friday.

The tour told players in a memo sent on Thursday and obtained by Golf Digest, that it was targeting a return for the Charles Schwab Challenge on May 21 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

The tour suspended its season after the first round of the Players Championship last month and has since called off tournaments through the Byron Nelson Championship scheduled for May 7-10.

ESPN reported that the tour is expected to announce more cancellations next week.

Has coronavirus doomed Tiger Woods' 18-major bid?

Players were told in the tour memo that officials hope to “preserve the maximum number of events we can while giving us more time as the crisis evolves.”

Officials told players they will rely on guidance from health and government authorities before deciding on a resumption of play.

If a May resumption of play is not possible as shelter-in-place directives remain in effect, a restart at Colonial could be moved to June 11-14, taking the dates originally set for the Canadian Open, which is expected to be cancelled.

The tour told players they would have three to four weeks' notice before the season resumes.

“We understand many of you may be impacted by travel restrictions and/or the inability to practice in your area, thus we want to be able to give you as much time as possible to allow you to come back fully prepared,” the memo said.

The tour announced on Monday that it was rescheduling its season finale, the Wyndham Championship, for August 13-16, with the season-ending tour playoffs to follow over the next three weeks.

Those dates were worked out with the rescheduling of three of the year's four major championships, the US PGA Championship moving to September to be followed by the Ryder Cup and the US Open with the Masters to be held in November.

The British Open, originally scheduled for July, has been cancelled.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment