Fingers crossed, the COVID-19 pandemic will have eased considerably before fall of 2021, and the rescheduled Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin will be able to welcome 40,000-plus fans each day.
That’s the plan as of now for operators of Destination Kohler, home to the Straits golf course and three other highly ranked layouts.
“The original plan is what we’re with right now (with) 40,000 to 45,000 spectators on site per day,” Michael O’Reilly, the director of golf operations at Destination Kohler, said Thursday in a virtual conference with reporters. “Right now, that’s what we’re planning for. Obviously, the PGA of America and Kohler Company, we’re going to adhere to state and local guidelines and recommendations.”
The Ryder Cup, normally a biennial event that pits American PGA Tour players against the best from Europe, had been scheduled for September 2020 but was pushed back to Sept. 24-26 this year because of the pandemic.
“Unlike other major sporting events that are played in existing stadiums, we had to make a decision now about building facilities to host the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits,” PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said in July when postponing the event from 2020. “It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible.”
The PGA Tour missed almost two months of action in 2020 because of the pandemic before restarting play in May. The PGA of America, which conducts the Ryder Cup, was able to play its PGA Championship in August after the restart, but the Ryder Cup already was delayed by then.
The PGA Tour has continued since that 2020 restart, with several players having tested positive for COVID-19. O’Reilly said the PGA of America and Destination Kohler will continue to monitor the situation and learn everything available to keep fans and players safe.
“There’s a lot of golf tournaments to be played between now and late September, including the PGA Championship, which is in May down at Kiawah,” O’Reilly said. “We have the opportunity … to learn a lot along the way, and as things change and evolve, for us to pivot. But as of right now, that’s what we’re hoping for, full attendance and full corporate hospitality.”
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The Straits Course at Whistling Straits, built by Pete Dye on the shore of Lake Michigan north of Sheboygan and opened in 1988, is ranked No. 7 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for all U.S. layouts built in or after 1960. It also is the No. 1 course in Wisconsin on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access tracks, and it is No. 5 in the U.S. among all resort courses. It has been the site of three PGA Championships (2004, ’10 and ’15) as well as the 2007 U.S. Senior Open.
“It’s an amazing golf course on television, really shows itself well, and it’s an amazing golf course in person,” O’Reilly said. “I think for the Ryder Cup, for the spectators, it’s going to be really, really good. We’ve made a few small changes here and there to help with the spectator flow, to make sure the spectator experience is as good as it can be. There’s a lot of bluffs, a lot of hills, a lot of spaces people can go to watch multiple holes of golf. … We’re set up in a good position to make it the best experience possible.”
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