Attendance at next month’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, which was going to be capped at a reported 8,000 spectators daily due to COVID concerns, is being reduced even further as the pandemic continues to surge in Arizona.
Tournament director Scott Jenkins announced on Wednesday that the daily attendance limit will be fewer than 5,000 people per day, Wednesday-Sunday, for the PGA Tour event at TPC Scottsdale scheduled for Feb. 1-7. That incorporates Wednesday’s traditional pro-am day as well as all four rounds of the tournament.
“The tournament will implement strict COVID safety protocols including, but certainly not limited to, the mandatory wearing of masks throughout the entire tournament grounds and thermal screening of every guest upon entry,” Jenkins said in the statement. “The expansive, 192-acre, open-aired layout of TPC Scottsdale is conducive to social distancing, and combined with stringent COVID safety protocols in place, The Thunderbirds are confident we can conduct a safe and responsible tournament in February.”
Few golf events have had any fans in attendance since the PGA Tour restarted last June. The Vivint Houston Open in November was the first to allow spectators and had about 2,000 fans on hand each day.
“The Thunderbirds continue to work closely with the PGA TOUR, local government and health officials in preparation to have limited fans at the 2021 Waste Management Phoenix Open,” the statement said. “Since returning to competition in June of 2020, the PGA TOUR has a successful track record of health and safety in the communities in which they play, including several events with ticketed spectators. We remain hopeful we can host an extremely limited number of socially distanced fans at “The People’s Open.”