The PGA Tour has announced that the 8:46 a.m. tee time at both the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Korn Ferry Tour Challenge this week will be left open, with a one-minute moment of silence beginning with three horn blasts.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, 8:46 has become a symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community, and the PGA Tour says it wants to do its part to help move forward.
On the PGA Tour’s official website, it reads:
As part of ongoing efforts to amplify the voices and efforts underway to end racial and social injustice, the TOUR has set aside an 8:46 a.m. tee time that will feature no players. The time has been set aside at both Colonial Country Club (Charles Schwab Challenge) and TPC Sawgrass (Korn Ferry Tour Challenge), as 8:46 has become a universal symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community.
Four days ago, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said: “For me, I spent last weekend calling around to my black colleagues and black friends, people that I thought that I could really learn from and I, at that time, I felt vulnerable. I didn’t understand in a world where people say, ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.’ I didn’t understand what the solution was in the short term, but I was committed to make certain I was part of identifying it as supporting it. So for me stepping back and trying to listen to those people that have been affected was the best place to start.”
The PGA Tour returns this week for its first event since March, when the season was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Monahan also said that the restart of its season will be committed to diversity, inclusion and doing what’s right.
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“What has happened here is not right and we’re going to be part of the solution. Let’s open up our discussion,” Monahan said. “Let’s make certain that we are listening to our players, listening to our colleagues and let’s do this the right way.”
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