The PGA Tour announced additional modifications to its schedule Thursday, delaying the resumption of the season to the second week of June after initially targeting late May amid the novel coronavirus pandemic that has put the sports world on hiatus.
The event will be closed to the general public, according to the tour.
“The health and safety of all associated with the PGA Tour and our global community continues to be our number one priority,” Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement, “and our hope is to play a role — responsibly — in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love.”
Fourteen events, 10 conducted by the PGA Tour, compose the rebooted schedule, including only three of the four majors after the cancellation of the British Open for the first time since World War II.
The PGA Championship, originally May 14-17, was moved to Aug. 6-9 at Harding Park in San Francisco, which has been among the epicenters of the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S. Open, originally June 18-21, is scheduled for Sept. 17-20 at fabled Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
The Masters, regularly the first major of the season that was to conclude this past Sunday, was pushed back to Nov. 12-15.
Additionally, the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis., has been moved to the weekend following the U.S. Open, with the United States seeking to regain the trophy on the heels of a lopsided loss to the Europeans, 17½-10½, in 2018 in Paris.
“Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future,” Monahan said, “but as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume competition only when — working closely with our tournaments — it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”
The tour announced it plans to close the first four events of the revamped schedule to spectators while continuing to monitor the situation to determine, with direction from local and state officials, the most appropriate on-site access in each market.
After the Charles Schwab Challenge, the next three events are the Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C.; Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.; and the Rocket Mortgage Classic from Detroit Golf Club.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic debuted last season as a replacement for the Quicken Loans National, which Tiger Woods hosted annually, after a lack of sponsorship scrapped the PGA Tour’s former regular stop in the Washington metropolitan region.
The Heritage, which had been slated for this week and canceled March 17, is back on the schedule, taking the slot the U.S. Open formerly occupied.
“I do think that golf is one of the only sports that can maintain social distancing and still have events,” Justin Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion who serves as an analyst for the Golf Channel, said recently during a Zoom call with the media. “So I think we’re all hopeful that happens for a number of reasons.
“Every player in the world will have had three, four, whatever, however many months off, so they’re going to be itching to play. The fields are going to be incredible when they do begin, and it’s going to be a release not only for the players and people involved running these golf tournaments but for golf fans in general.”
