1. Takeaways from the revised schedule
Excellent stuff from PGATour.com staff rounding up key takeaways from the schedule announcement…
“JUNE 11 START…The first round of the revised schedule is June 11 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Pazder said moving the Charles Schwab Challenge back three weeks was a key factor in determining when to re-start the season. “There’s a lot that can happen in a positive way in those three additional weeks with this delay, and that was, I think, what drove us,” he said. While Pazder said the TOUR is optimistic the date will hold, there are no certainties in the current coronavirus landscape. “I’m not going to say on this call that I have 110 percent certainty, but we are very confident that we will be able to play that second week in June,” he said. Pazder added that his level of confidence is based on the developments being made in regard to testing. “It gives us confidence that we will be able to develop a strong testing protocol that will mitigate risk as much as we possibly can,” he said. “We know that there will also be further developments over the next eight weeks before we were to resume play.”
“NO FANS. The first four events are slated to be played without fans, which will allow tournaments to stay in compliance with social distancing guidelines. Pazder said only people essential to conducting the tournament will be allowed – players, caddies, tournament rules officials, broadcast team, select number of people from the host organizations. Walking scorers also will likely be needed to “properly score the event and disseminate information across various platforms, whether it’s the telecast or digitally and so forth.” Other constituent groups are being evaluated for potential inclusion.”
“ON-SITE TESTING. Dennis said the TOUR is spending a “lot of time right now learning about testing” and that as it becomes widely available, it would be appropriate to use testing to help golf’s return. “We think that that’s critical for a lot of different reasons but certainly for the communities we play in and the 3,000-plus charities that we support,” Dennis said. “So we’re in an evaluation mode learning about the testing, building out what we think could work from a testing protocol, and we’ll certainly have more information on that over the next couple weeks and months.” Specifically in regards to players, Dennis said one possibility is to have them tested before they leave home, “then proper hygiene and travel protocols as you travel towards the venue, possibly then testing that would go on in a safe and as clean an environment as we can make, both in terms of what you’re doing in your daily routine at the golf course but also at the host hotel and dinners and all that.”
2. Tour wants more coronavirus testing
ESPN’s Bob Harig…”With numerous medical and government entities suggesting that widespread testing for the coronavirus is necessary as the country attempts to reopen, PGA Tour officials acknowledged Thursday that they are keen to study and see ramped-up testing as a revised schedule was announced.”
- “We see changes and developments being made in the world of testing, available tests,” said Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s chief tournament and competitions officer. “We’re following very closely through the assistance of our expert medical advisers the development of more large-scale testing capabilities, more rapid-response type tests, whether it’s through finger pricks, testing for antibodies.”
- “We obviously are aware that the FDA recently approved use of a saliva-based test. It gives us confidence that we will be able to develop a strong testing protocol that will mitigate risk as much as we possibly can. We know that there will also be further developments over the next eight weeks before we were to resume play.”
3. “You’re an independent contractor”
Geoff Shackelford…”The PGA Tour rolled out an ambitious 2019-20 schedule completion, followed by a 2020-21 schedule start (minus the suddenly-defunct Greenbrier Classic and cancelled Canadian and Barracuda stops). But this comment from the PGA Tour’s Andy Pazder is certainly accurate, though insensitive to players who have COVID-19 concerns.”
“From a teleconference featuring operations heads Andy Pazdur and Tyler Dennis in support of the schedule rollout”
- “Q. What about the players who don’t feel comfortable? There are going to be players who don’t feel comfortable coming back. What happens to those players if you start and they’re not comfortable coming back playing again?”
- “ANDY PAZDER: That’s a question I think you need to direct to individual players. My only experience with anything like this I guess would be the first few tournaments following 9/11. We had players that were uneasy about air travel. That’s one of the beauties of being a PGA TOUR member; you’re an independent contractor. You’re not required to be at any PGA TOUR event. So they have that discretion to play tournaments where they favor the golf course or tournaments in this instance, to your question, they may or may not feel comfortable. But that’s an individual player decision.”
- “So I would direct you to reach out to some of the players that you know to get their direct perspective. I can’t speak on their behalf as it relates to that.”
4. Tour/Greenbrier contract finished
AP report…”The PGA Tour has scrapped its contract to hold annual golf tournaments at a resort owned by billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after turnout lagged and federal prosecutors eyed the lavish retreat.”
- “The Greenbrier resort issued a statement Thursday saying it came to an agreement with the Tour to cancel this year’s tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic and to cancel future golf contests that were scheduled at the resort through 2026.”
- “The yearly tournament, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, has struggled to draw fanfare after moving from summer to fall. Last year, attendance dragged as the matches went up against college football home games, even as one of Justice’s family mining companies bought 30,000 tickets to give to fans.”
5. Tiger’s 2020 schedule?
Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport believes it’s most probably TW won’t tee it up again until the Memorial…
- “Memorial, Muirfield Village G.C., July 16-19, Dublin, Ohio…Likelihood of playing: 9…“It’s Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. It’s a hyper-elite field. Woods has played in this event every year he’s been healthy, including in 2019, when it was the only non-major he played between March and the FedEx Cup Playoffs in August. He’s a five-time winner at Muirfield Village, and it falls three weeks before the PGA Championship. There’s a chance this is Woods’ first tournament back, and the only start he makes before the PGA.”
- And then not again until…”PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, Aug. 6-9, San Francisco…Likelihood of playing: 10…It’s a major championship, and Woods has played well at Harding-he beat John Daly in a playoff to win the WGC-American Express in 2005 and was 5-0 in the Presidents Cup in 2009. If he’s healthy, he’s playing.”
But his full breakdown of the chances of Woods playing each event is worth a read.
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