As had been expected, PGA Tour events have been announcing separately that fans will not be part of the equation for the rest of the 2019-20 slate.
As had been expected, PGA Tour events have been announcing separately that fans will not be part of the equation for the rest of the 2019-20 slate.
A report from Golf Channel citing multiple sources. said earlier that all events would be played without fans for the rest of the season.
On Monday, the BMW Championship, Wyndham Championship and others all announced the move.
The PGA TOUR and tournament officials have announced the 2020 #BMWCHAMPS will be played without spectators, with all four rounds of the event to be broadcast live, as scheduled, on NBC and the Golf Channel on August 27-30.https://t.co/4xq4Kw3DNQpic.twitter.com/wbodugTeF0
The 2019-20 season officially ends at the conclusion of the FedEx playoffs — the Tour Championship in Atlanta — meaning the next event that could include fans is the Safeway Open on Sept. 13.
The schedule is obviously jumbled, since the U.S. Open and Masters are both scheduled to be played in what is technically next season, although those events are not run by the PGA Tour. There is no word on whether those events will have fans.
While he’s excited to return to the normalcy of a workweek, Varner understands that the first few weeks on the PGA Tour could be intense.
Harold Varner III is one of many players preparing for next week’s Charles Schwab Invitational, the first PGA Tour event since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
But while he’s excited for the normalcy of a workweek, Varner understands that a number of contributing factors could make the first few weeks an intense and interesting experience.
Players have been cooped up at home due to the pandemic. Players will be staying at the same hotel and chartering the same plane between tournaments. And players will be looking to discuss the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, especially with Varner, who is one of the few African-American players on Tour.
Varner spoke with Damon Hack on Golf Channel on Wednesday, and said he expects frank and candid conversations.
“We’re going to be the first sport to really get back going and … we’ll be spending a lot more time than we usually spend together,” Varner said. “There’s going to be conversations like this. You know, the most amazing thing about life is that there can be a lot of good, even though it’s not on social media, it’s not on this camera. There’s going to be conversations.”
In fact, Varner, who stands 88th in the FedExCup standings, said the exchanges have already begun.
“I talked to Billy Horschel about it this morning,” Varner said. “All this bad stuff that’s happening, and you know this evil stuff, there’s going to be some good that comes from it. I mean, I literally was playing golf this morning and I’m already talking to Billy about it after nine holes.”
Varner came out with a lengthy tweet on Monday, marking one of the first comments from anyone in the golf world.
There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys ✊🏿✊🏽✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/LrFEff94IF
“I think it’s also important to take your time and get it right,” Varner said of his comments. “Know that what you’re doing is right. I believe in the good of America but right now there’s just things that are happening that just … they suck, honestly. It’s just hard to fathom 2020 like this. I’ve never been through anything like this in my life.”
Varner — who was born in Akron, Ohio, and then grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina, before attending East Carolina University — was asked by Hack about those who say athletes shouldn’t speak their mind on social issues.
“I think as an athlete you play a huge role but the biggest role you play as a human is knowing what’s right and wrong, and how much wrong we saw,” Varner said. “I’m going to fight the good fight and I think it was time to say something because I’ve always had an opinion on something. I always have, and probably always will, but the people who think that we shouldn’t say anything, that’s their opinion. I want to do what I can for the betterment of this world — that’s my job as a human, as a person in society. I’m going to speak up.”
The new event at Muirfield Village will be hosted by NBA star Steph Curry, an avid golfer who had previously been tied to a PGA Tour event.
It appears a fill-in PGA Tour event in Columbus, Ohio, that will precede the Memorial will have an identity of its own — with a famous face.
Muirfield Village Golf Club will play host to back-to-back PGA Tour events in July — a one-time event July 9-12 followed by the Memorial Tournament July 16-19 — according to a memo sent to tour players Tuesday and obtained by Golfweek.
That tournament, to be held without fans, will have a 156-player field. Its title sponsor is Workday, which provides software services for finance and human resources.
The Workday sponsorship is tied to a new event hosted by NBA All-Star Steph Curry, an avid golfer who hosted a non-PGA Tour charity tournament sponsored by Workday in the fall of 2019.
Memorial Tournament director Dan Sullivan confirmed that Muirfield Village will host the extra tournament.
The Memorial will follow with the 120-man field afforded to invitational events, but it has not been determined whether fans will be allowed.
It is not known what role Memorial Tournament founder Jack Nicklaus will play in the new tournament, which the tour created to take the place on the schedule of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois. That tournament was canceled last week over concerns with the pandemic.
Playing a second straight tournament at the same site will allow the Tour to maintain a safety “bubble” for players, keeping them in at the same venue for two weeks.
Curry has long embraced his love for golf, and has played in numerous events.
The NBA star brought golf programs to life at Howard University, an NCAA Division I school in Washington, D.C. Curry announced in August he was committed to funding men’s and women’s teams at the university for six years beginning with the 2020-21 academic year.
This isn’t the first time Curry has been tied to a PGA Tour event, but a previous partnership fell through.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Tour nixed plans for a proposed Curry-hosted event that had previously seemed to be gaining steam toward being on the calendar in the 2019-20 season.
There looked to be a viable host in Lake Merced Golf Club after members approved course upgrades and a title sponsor also appeared in the offing. The event was expected to be slated for September 2019 (with Sept. 19-22 held open).
Akron and Detroit were listed among sites to host an event before The Memorial in Columbus. But Akron appears to be out.
Firestone Country Club apparently is no longer being considered to fill an opening on the PGA Tour’s revamped schedule after Thursday’s cancellation of the John Deere Classic due to coronavirus concerns.
According to Golfweek, Akron and Detroit were among the alternative sites and Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch reported that Columbus could be in the mix, with one source saying it appeared to be the top option. According to the Dispatch story, Lexington, Kentucky, and Carmel, Indiana, are also possibilities.
“There are multiple options, more than a handful,” a PGA Tour player told Golfweek.
But Don Padgett III, executive director of the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, said via text Friday that the Champions Tour major Aug. 12-16 would be the only professional golf tournament staged in Akron this year.
[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-vgFm21H3]
The John Deere was scheduled for July 9-12 in Silvis, Illinois, and was to be the first PGA Tour event to allow spectators.
Because of COVID-19, the tour could be considering keeping players in the same city for consecutive weeks. The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club is set for July 16-19, the week after the now-open date. The Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club is scheduled for July 2-5.
The Detroit event will be played without fans; the Memorial has not been given approval to allow spectators.
Representatives of four tournaments preparing to host professional golf events in Ohio this year recently wrote a letter to Governor Mike DeWine seeking permission to allow the public to attend, according to the Dispatch. Those four were the Memorial, the Bridgestone Senior Players, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic in Sylvania.
The last time the same course hosted pro events in consecutive weeks was in 2014, when Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina was the site of the U.S. Open, followed by the U.S. Women’s Open.
Ohio State’s Scarlet Course and Scioto Country Club have held professional tournaments, but the Dispatch reported Scarlet had not been contacted by the tour as of Friday and Scioto did not know of any feelers in that regard.
The Nationwide, a Korn Ferry Tour event, is scheduled for Aug. 20-23 at OSU Scarlet.
