Tag: coronavirus cancelations

Open or closed: Golfweek’s Best top 25 resort courses

Amid the international coronavirus pandemic, more than half the top 25 courses on Golfweek’s Best list of resorts are temporarily closed.

After weeks of trying to keep their courses open during the international coronavirus pandemic, more than half the top 25 courses on Golfweek’s Best list of resort tracks have shuttered their operations temporarily or plan to this week.

Several of these resorts, stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, have posted to their websites or sent emails that operations have been halted. At others, the courses remain open while the hotel operations have ceased or been dramatically curtailed, and some are maintaining full operations.

Several of the top 25 are northern courses that have not started their golf seasons yet and as of now are still planning to open when their seasons begin.

Related: Live look at Pebble Beach, Bandon Dunes and more

The situation is fluid and likely to change for some of these resorts that do remain open. Several of the courses that have closed have posted that they plan to reopen in April or May. Following are details on each.

 

1. Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble Beach, California (pictured atop this story)

CLOSED

Reopens April 17. The entire resort is closed.

 

2. Bandon Dunes (Pacific Dunes)

Bandon, Oregon

CLOSING

The resort will suspend operations March 26 and plans to reopen April 6.

 

3. Pinehurst (No. 2)

Pinehurst, North Carolina

OPEN

The courses remain open, but all lodging operations have ceased. Limited to-go dining is available.

 

4. Whistling Straits (Straits)

Mosel, Wisconsin

CLOSED, OUT OF SEASON

The courses are scheduled to open in April as weather permits, but all lodging and dining at Destination Kohler is closed.

 

No. 7 on Old MacDonald at Bandon Dunes

5. Bandon Dunes (Old Macdonald)

Bandon, Oregon

CLOSING

The resort will suspend operations March 26 and plans to reopen April 6.

 

6. Bandon Dunes (Bandon Dunes)

Bandon, Oregon

CLOSING

The resort will suspend operations March 26 and plans to reopen April 6.

 

7. Shadow Creek

North Las Vegas, Nevada

CLOSED

MGM has ceased all casino and entertainment options until April 16.

 

8. Kiawah Golf Resort (Ocean Course)

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

OPEN

The resort has modified its services and dining availability, but the courses are open. The pro shops are closed, with booking and check-in being handled remotely.

 

9. Bandon Dunes (Bandon Trails)

Bandon, Oregon

CLOSING

The resort will suspend operations March 26 and plans to reopen April 6.

 

10. TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium)

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

OPEN

The Players Championship was canceled, but the golf courses are open for play.

 

No. 3 at Spyglass Hill (Ben Jared/PGA Tour)

11. Spyglass Hill

Pebble Beach, California

CLOSED

Part of the resort at Pebble Beach, which reopens April 17.

 

12. Sand Valley (Mammoth Dunes)

Nekoosa, Wisconsin

CLOSED FOR SEASON

The resort plans to open its two courses April 24 as planned after standard winter closures.

 

13. Sand Valley (Sand Valley)

Nekoosa, Wisconsin

CLOSED FOR SEASON

The resort plans to open its two courses April 24 as planned after standard winter closures.

 

14. Streamsong Resort (Red)

Bowling Green, Florida

OPEN
Group caddies are mandated instead of normal carrying caddies to promote maintaining a recommended distance between people.

 

15. Streamsong Resort (Black)

Bowling Green, Florida

OPEN
Group caddies are mandated instead of normal carrying caddies to promote maintaining a recommended distance between people.

 

Gamble Sands (Courtesy of Gamble Sands)

16. Gamble Sands

Brewster, Washington

OPEN

The course opened earlier than planned after a mild winter.

 

17. Kapalua (Plantation)

Lanai, Hawaii

CLOSING

The course will close March 25 and plans to reopen April 30.

 

18. Arcadia Bluffs (Bluffs)

Arcadia, Michigan

CLOSED FOR SEASON

The course will open as planned April 1 after the winter season.

 

19. Sea Pines Resort (Harbour Town Golf Links)

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

OPEN

The course is open, but the Inn and Club at Harbour Town has been closed through April 16. The PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Classic was canceled.

 

20. Streamsong Resort (Blue)

Bowling Green, Florida

OPEN
Group caddies are mandated instead of normal carrying caddies to promote maintaining a recommended distance between people.

 

No. 18 at Fallen Oak (Courtesy of Fallen Oak)

21. Fallen Oak

Saucier, Mississippi

CLOSED

The Beau Rivage Resort and Casino has ceased all operations temporarily, including golf.

 

22. Four Seasons Resort Lanai (Manele)

Lanai, Hawaii

CLOSED

The resort has shuttered all operations until April 30.

 

23. Omni Homestead Resort (Cascades)

Hot Springs, Virginia

CLOSED FOR SEASON

The Cascades Course is scheduled to open as planned May 1 after the winter season. This Omni property is still open, but eight others have closed.

 

24. Sea Island (Seaside)

St. Simons Island, Georgia

CLOSED

The resort is closed until May 15.

 

25. Blackwolf Run (River)

Kohler, Wisconsin

CLOSED, OUT OF SEASON

The courses are scheduled to open in April as weather permits, but all lodging and dining at Destination Kohler is closed.

[opinary poll=”do-you-feel-comfortable-playing-golf-ami-HcK9NO” customer=”golfweek”]

Lynch: During golf’s extended break, it’s time to appreciate all the game provides beyond our screens

Professional golf’s tournament break amid the coronavirus pandemic proves the game is meant to be played, not consumed.

[jwplayer JjPUc3vr-9JtFt04J]

Schedules are sacrosanct in golf. Each season rotates around the immovable cornerstones of the calendar — springtime in Augusta, summer amid wintry weather on a British links — and each week is identified not by its dates but by its PGA Tour stop. Valspar last, Match Play this, Valero next. There are schedules within schedules, the roll call of tee times that lines up the action and the broadcast listings that bring it all home.

The abandonment of the Players Championship began (at least) 11 desolate weeks without Tour play, severed our tethers to the schedule, and left both fans and players adrift.

Rory McIlroy should have gone to Augusta National as the preemptive favorite to win the Masters and the career grand slam, a World No. 1 enjoying some of the finest form of his career. Instead, in a random phone conversation a few days after departing TPC Sawgrass, he wondered aloud if his next start might not be until the RBC Canadian Open in mid-June. That would be three months after he last swung a club in competition. Who is to say where McIlroy’s game will be when he next drives down Magnolia Lane? There are no guarantees in professional sport, and a dream deferred can so easily become a dream denied.

Golf keeps many of us anchored and its absence leaves some unmoored. Boredom is corrosive to elite athletes, and in the immediate aftermath of the season being suspended it became apparent the extent to which the game occupies the hours and minds of those who play for a living. Billy Horschel was on Instagram hitting balls over his house and into the pool. Byeong Hun An decided to start a YouTube channel. Jon Rahm was asking Twitter for grilling tips because his new wife is tired of his peanut butter toast. Padraig Harrington was posting videos from his Dublin home that offered a glimpse into the always fevered mind of a swing tip junkie. Were it not for coronavirus forcing Greg Norman to keep his clothes on, succumbing might have been a relief.

As the rhythm of professional golf was thrown into chaos, it was an arrestive reminder that this is a game to be played rather than consumed, one best enjoyed with family and friends, not on screens large or small. Whatever we as fans lose in 2020, whatever asterisks besoil the historical record, perhaps we can emerge with a renewed appreciation for what golf provides, and for the people who provide it. There are many thousands of good people on and off the Tour caravan – maintenance crews, clubhouse servers, caddies, hospitality vendors, manufacturers – for whom coronavirus has brought financial hardship and health crises, for whom months without pay means penury.

If we are fortunate enough to see FedEx Cup bonuses distributed this year, it would be a noble reflection on the game if somehow those folk were included in the accounting.

We’ll reach the safe side of this void some day and elite golfers will dismount their Pelotons and get back to business. The governing bodies will endeavor to salvage what they can of the season for the sake of continuity. Let’s hope that involves shifting the cornerstones around which we rotate, even if it means Augusta in the fall and a British links in weather that’s actually appropriate to the season at hand. 

“I honestly don’t think the players and fans care too much if they play four weeks in a row for the majors,” former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn tweeted. “It means we are back playing golf, which means the world is in a better place than it is today.” 

[lawrence-related id=778032982,778032639,778032937,778032694]

[opinary poll=”do-you-feel-comfortable-playing-golf-ami-HcK9NO” customer=”golfweek”]

Executive order closes Winged Foot, halts U.S. Open preparations indefinitely

The prospects of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot took a hit after an executive order closed the club amid the coronavirus outbreak.

[jwplayer JjPUc3vr-9JtFt04J]

An executive order by Gov. Andrew Cuomo resulted in the indefinite closure of Winged Foot Golf Club and further complicated a decision facing the USGA regarding the future of the U.S. Open.

The organization expects to announce next month whether the championship will be contested June 18-21, postponed or canceled.

New York remains the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which took root in New Rochelle, some three miles from the gates of Winged Foot. The private 36-hole facility ceased operations Sunday evening.

“There are multiple variables that we need to consider, including the CDC and local guidelines,” USGA chief brand officer Craig Annis said Monday. “We are continuing to monitor the situation and making relevant contingency plans.

“We expect to make a decision sometime in the middle of April.”

The USGA staffers who had been working at Winged Foot are now sheltering in place at various locations in Westchester.

Preparations began to slow earlier this month and were halted altogether a week ago. Only the protective bases that provide support for major infrastructure are in place. No grandstands or hospitality structures have been erected.

Winged Foot Golf Club, host of the 2020 U.S. Open, is now closed. (Photo: Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

“We simply did not want to put anyone at risk,” Annis said via email. “While construction onsite at Winged Foot has stopped for now, we are continuing to hold the dates for the U.S. Open in June and will monitor all available guidance and regulations from the CDC, WHO and other federal, state and local authorities to do what is in the best interests of the community.”

Finding a new date for the U.S. Open might be difficult with the Masters and PGA Championship already postponing. There will be a July 30-August 2 date available if the Olympics announced it is postponing the Games in Tokyo. It’s possible the U.S. Open would have to be scaled down if the situation improves enough in the coming weeks to play in June.

Winged Foot is allowed to have essential personnel on the grounds while the closure is in effect, allowing the grounds crew to maintain the West Course, which recently underwent an extensive restoration that highlights the original A.W. Tillinghast details.

[lawrence-related id=778032831,778032744,778032708]

Paul Casey opens up on ‘strange’ transition to life without golf

Paul Casey is the two-time defending champ at the Valspar, which was supposed to be this week. The coronavirus pandemic has everything on hold.

Paul Casey wishes he and his fellow professionals were still playing golf, but the time off suits him.

The 42-year-old has plenty of hobbies to keep him busy, like playing soccer with his son and riding his bike.

“Daytime TV sucks though,” he joked on a conference call with media on Friday.

Since golf’s tournament schedule was brought to a screeching halt in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the sport has taken a backseat for Casey. A week and change removed from the Players Championship and other events being canceled, the Englishman is disappointed he won’t be going for a three-peat this week at the Valspar Championship.

That said, he doesn’t have a plan for his return to the game. He’s trying to formulate one on the fly.

“I’m a big fan of time off, there are times where I’ve taken three to four weeks without hitting balls,” said Casey. “It’s quite common for me in the offseason, but there’s always been a prospect of going back to work.”

With the prospect of golf in the unforeseeable future, the mental approach to daily life has been toughest part of Casey’s transition the last week.

“When I’ve taken time off at least I know I’m going back on the road, or on winter break I’m going to play in seven weeks time or six weeks time, so that’s easy to plan,” explained Casey, who admitted “for whatever reason I feel like I’ve kind of checked out.”

“You’re working out, doing the little things, you’re booking flights, I’m not doing anything right now,” he said. “I’m working out, but I’m working out just because I like to work out. I’m riding my bike because I like to ride my bike. I’m not really working on getting ready for a set date.”

Paul Casey leaves the clubhouse after the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the Players Championship. Photo by Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

The unknown of what’s to come in wake of the pandemic has been the strangest thing Casey has been forced to deal with.

“I guess that’s the same for everybody, though. Our industry isn’t any different than anybody else’s. It’s the unknown. … how bad is this going to get, what are the ramifications, am I going to be eating soup for the next 12 weeks or something? I don’t know.”

That one phrase, “I don’t know,” was common throughout the teleconference. It’s not like Casey was avoiding questions, he was being honest and open. Like the rest of us, he just doesn’t know the best course of action if and when tournaments resume. Should majors and the Ryder Cup come before tournaments? Does it make more sense to scrap the 2019-20 season and start fresh in 2021 or will a jam-packed fall schedule save the season?

There’s no right or wrong answer to any of those questions as the cloud of uncertainty lingers around the world. But when the veil is lifted and what we used to refer to as normalcy is reinstated, Casey will be ready to go.

“Everybody wants to get back going again,” said Casey. “People are going to be craving golf, I know I’ll be craving golf and I’ll be looking forward to getting back out there.”

FORWARD PRESS PODCAST: In this week’s episode of the Forward Press, host David Dusek chats with golf analyst Mark Immelman about the coronavirus pandemic and the effect that it has had on the world of golf, from the NCAA to the PGA Tour.

[opinary poll=”do-you-agree-with-the-pga-tour-cancellin-JWMD0u” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778032371,778032295,778032298]

Coronavirus: Can you still play golf in South Carolina?

Restaurants, movie theaters and shops are closing due to the threat of coronavirus, but most South Carolina golf clubs are still open.

[jwplayer hTRJDb4x-9JtFt04J]

While restaurants, movie theaters and shops are closing due to the threat of coronavirus, many South Carolina golf clubs are still open.

The state currently has 81 confirmed cases and one death as of March 20. The United States sits at more than 16,500 confirmed cases and more than 200 deaths as of Friday March 20, while globally, the tally is more than 266,000 confirmed cases and more than 11,000 deaths. Numbers are rising by the hour.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster created an executive order requiring South Carolina restaurants to discontinue on-site dining so no golf clubs in South Carolina can legally serve meals. Curbside, to-go and delivery options are available at select locations.

The courses listed below from Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in South Carolina are all open and tee times are available to book. Hours at clubs Golfweek was able to contact had not changed and personnel at the clubs was the same.

Golfweek advises if you choose to seek out a course and play golf, you follow proper social distancing guidelines and refrain from sharing common spaces like restrooms or golf carts with others. Many are even choosing to putt with the flag in.

Editor’s note: If you would like to share information regarding the golf courses in your area, please send us an email and let us know.

Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in South Carolina

All courses, as of March 20, 2020, are open, unless noted below.

1. Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean Course), Kiawah Island
2. Sea Pines Resort (Harbour Town GL), Hilton Head Island
3. Montage Palmetto Bluff (May River GC), Bluffton
4. The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, Myrtle Beach
5. Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, Pawleys Island
6. True Blue, Pawleys Island
7. Tidewater GC, North Myrtle Beach
8. Sea Pines Resort (Atlantic Dunes), Hilton Head Island
9. Legends Golf Resort (Moorland), Myrtle Beach
10. Heritage Club, Pawleys Island
11. Sea Pines Resort (Heron Point), Hilton Head Island
12. TPC Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet
13. Barefoot Resort & Golf (Dye), North Myrtle Beach
14. King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, Myrtle Beach
15. Palmetto Dunes (Robert Trent Jones Course), Hilton Head Island
16. Grande Dunes (Resort Club), Myrtle Beach

[lawrence-related id=778031898]

Without tournaments for income, Korn Ferry Tour’s Conrad Shindler offers $20 video golf lessons

Without tournaments for income, the Korn Ferry Tour’s Conrad Shindler is offering $20 video golf lessons.

On a normal Wednesday in March, Conrad Shindler would be preparing for a Korn Ferry Tour event.

These days, normal seems like a foreign concept.

The coronavirus outbreak has forced the cancellation and postponement of professional tournaments and major championships around the world. Six of the next eight Korn Ferry Tour events have been canceled, with two postponed to a later date.

So what was Shindler doing awake at 6 a.m. on an off day? He was working.

Without the tour, Shindler needs an income. So the 31-year-old hopped on Twitter on Tuesday night and threw out an offer: $20 golf lessons via video.

“I’ve probably had about 20-25 people go through and send a Venmo in,” said Shindler on Wednesday morning, 12 hours after the tweet. “I’ve got them lined up and I’ve written them all down. I’m going to start watching some swings here later this afternoon and get the videos cranking.”

Shindler’s first lesson was just 10 hours after his initial tweet. He helped his first client with his hands and alignment, and gave a few tips on how to make more consistent contact.

“I watched the video and then I set my iPad on the kitchen counter, and I’m there telling them what I want to see them do and feel in the different drills,” explained Shindler. “I’m showing them how to do the drill and I’ll send it back. I want them to visually see what I’m trying to get them to do.”

After the lesson, Shindler jumped on a workout bike for 45 minutes “so my wife won’t get mad at me,” and then it was off to the golf course. The winner of the 2017 Rex Hospital Open has three courses near his home in Dallas where he’s still able to play: Vaquero Club, the Lakes at Castle Hills and Colonial.

While on his way to play with some fellow members at Vaquero, the member of Texas A&M’s 2009 national title team reflected on what has been a wild few weeks for the golf world.

“It’s definitely a lot to wrap your head around,” he said. “You go from moving into the main stretch of the Korn Ferry Tour season, planning everything out, getting ready to hit the road, getting your final preparations underway and then you see the coronavirus move into the United States.”

“I personally overlooked it. I didn’t think it was going to be a huge impact,” admitted Shindler. “When we first made the decision to play tournaments without fans you kind of felt like something else was still coming. When they actually do start postponing and canceling events its just a experience you’ve never been apart of.”

In various group chats, texts and calls with other players, Shindler explained the mood among professionals as more eerie than somber.

“This is nothing we’ve ever experienced before,” said Shindler. “All we know is tournament golf, playing with each other and spending time together on the road. It’s an ever-evolving golf world we’re in, and it’s not just our world, it’s everybody’s. We’re adapting on the fly.”

As for what’s next, Shindler knows as much as we all do. Instead of worrying and fretting about a contingency plan if he can’t play or practice, he’s taking it day-by-day, hoping for the best and having fun with his lessons.

“It’s a joy for me,” Shindler said of his lessons and the positive response he’s received on social media. “I figured let’s give it a whirl. It’s exciting for me because I like to make anybody better at golf. I like to help people in this game. It’s done so much for me so to be able to help other players, and they’re helping me, it’s a nice tradeoff.”

[lawrence-related id=778032007,778032009,778031997,778031964,778031959]

PGA Tour cancels more events due to coronavirus

The PGA Tour canceled the RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Wells Fargo Championship, and AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.

[jwplayer hTRJDb4x-9JtFt04J]

The PGA Tour announced that it is canceling all tournaments through the PGA Championship, which was expected to be played May 14-17, due to concerns with the coronavirus.

The decision means that the following tournaments now have been called off: the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina; Zurich Classic of New Orleans; Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte; and AT&T Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas.

In a separate announcement, the PGA of America postponed the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park until a later date, just as Augusta National announced for the Masters on Friday, meaning neither of the first two majors of the golf season will go off as planned.

The Tour’s announcement comes five days after it scrapped the Players Championship after one round and also said that the Valspar Championship in Tampa, WGC Dell Matchplay in Austin and Valero Texas Open in San Antonio would be canceled.

As a result, the Charles Schwab Challenge, scheduled for May 21-24, is the earliest the Tour could play again.

“As we receive more clarity in the coming weeks, the Tour will be working with our tournament organizations and title sponsors, in collaboration with golf’s governing bodies, to build a PGA Tour schedule for 2020 that ensures the health and safety for all associated with our sport and a meaningful conclusion to the season. We will provide further updates when those plans come into focus,” the Tour said in its press release.

The announcement also means that two more PGA Tour Champions events have been wiped out too: the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Atlanta, Insperity Invitational in Houston and The Tradition in Birmingham, which was originally slated for May 7-10 will now be played September 24-27.

PGA Tour Champions previously announced on March 16 that the Mastercard Japan Championship (June 12-14) will not be contested due to the current travel advisories in place from the CDC, the WHO and the U.S. Department of State.

The following events on the Korn Ferry Tour are also canceled: the Veritex Bank Championship in Dallas, Huntsville Championship in Alabama, Nashville Golf Open, Digital Ally Open in Overland Park, Kansas, while Savannah Golf Championship and the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville have been postponed.

[opinary poll=”do-you-agree-with-the-pga-tour-cancellin-JWMD0u” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778031867,778031713,778031789]

PGA Championship postponed due to coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak has caused the postponement of the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

The PGA Championship has come off the clock. With all eyes on golf’s second major in an uncertain climate created by a coronavirus outbreak, the PGA of America announced on Tuesday that it would postpone the event originally scheduled for May 14-17 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

The organization said it hoped to reschedule the event at TPC Harding Park later in the summer, and that it would remain in contact with the PGA Tour and the City of San Francisco to find the right date.

“Throughout our evaluation process, we have been committed to following the guidance of public health authorities and given the coronavirus shelter-in-place order in effect in San Francisco, postponement is the best decision for all involved,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

That’s now two majors that have been postponed, considering that Augusta National made the same announcement March 13 for next month’s Masters Tournament.

A day earlier, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had announced the Tour would cancel the Players and all events through the Valero Texas Open (scheduled April 2-5) due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on March 15 that gatherings be limited to 50 people or less for the next eight weeks. The PGA Championship fell just one week outside of the recommendation.

The situation became more uncertain Monday afternoon when a “shelter in place” order was announced for six Bay Area counties, directing residents to say inside and away from others for three weeks.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued an emergency declaration aimed at preparing the city for an outbreak before there were any confirmed cases of the virus in late February. President Trump declared a national state of emergency on Friday, March 13. As of that date, California public health officials reported the state had five fatalities and more than 270 official coronavirus cases, with an additional 11,400 people in self-isolation. About 60 percent of confirmed cases stemmed from the Bay Area.

With two of the season’s four majors postponed, attention now falls to the U.S. Open, scheduled for June 18-21 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.

Local qualifying for the U.S. Open was set to begin on April 27 but the USGA announced Tuesday that it would cancel that stage of qualifying and look to redesign the qualifying process going forward as events unfold.

The USGA will continue to hold open the U.S. Open competition dates, however.

[opinary poll=”do-you-agree-with-the-pga-tour-cancellin-JWMD0u” customer=”golfweek”]

Report: Augusta National Golf Club closing down in wake of coronavirus outbreak

Three days after postponing the 2020 Masters, Augusta National Golf Club is reportedly closing due to the coronavirus outbreak.

[jwplayer vSNmXZjw-9JtFt04J]

Three days ago Augusta National Golf Club announced the Masters would be postponed until a later date due to the widespread coronavirus outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks on Sunday.

On Monday, according to a Golf Digest report, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley sent a letter to its members announcing the course would be closed.

From the letter obtained by Golf Digest: “We are now in the midst of a national emergency. The Coronavirus is increasingly impacting lives everywhere, and we have rigorously evaluated how this will affect the Club and its operations. Our focus moving forward must be the health and safety of our exceptional staff, which is the heartbeat of Augusta National.”

“Beginning today, we are taking the necessary steps to curtail our operations so, by the end of this week, the Club will be closed until further notice. We intend to maintain our properties with limited personnel on site, and we will support our many other functions by working remotely where possible. But this is about much more than business continuity. This is about our employees, and the foundation of this decision is built-in upon keeping everyone safe while preserving the financial stability of those we care about most.

“We will continuously review this situation and send timely information in order to give clarity and comfort during these unsettling times. While we do not know what the weeks ahead will bring for our world, I know our Club will emerge successfully and stronger than ever because of the support of our members and staff. Please continue to take every precaution to stay healthy, and thank you for your patience and trust as we plan for the realities of this pandemic.”

[opinary poll=”do-you-agree-with-the-pga-tour-cancellin-JWMD0u” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778031693,778031680,778031610,778031584]

Coronavirus: How are professional golfers spending their time off?

Rickie Fowler flirted with 59 playing with Justin Thomas and the #StayAtHomeChallenge is in full effect.

Put yourself in the position of a professional golfer.

The tournament schedule for the next month has just been axed. If you’re on the PGA Tour, you might have been at the Tour’s flagship event, the Players Championship, when it was canceled after just one round.

In addition to the cancellation of golf’s fifth major – it is, don’t argue – PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan canceled all events up through the Valero Texas Open (April 2-5). Augusta National postponed the Masters.

Professional players never have this level of free time in their season. So, how are they spending their time off? By playing golf, going to the beach and juggling toilet paper, of course.

Rickie vs. JT

On what would have been Sunday at the Players, Justin Thomas shot a 65 in a match against Rickie Fowler and got rolled by five shots.

Toilet paper #StayAtHomeChallenge

Shoutout to Joost Luiten for starting what may become a golf Twitter viral trend by simply juggling toilet paper on his club.

Bernd Wiesberger

Bernd was pretty good.

Matthias Schwab

Then Matthias took the crown and made it literally rain toilet paper.

Full Phil

We’ve been wowed by his calves and health gains, but we might see a different looking Lefty when golf returns.

The Hadleys visit the beach

I’d like to think I’m a Chesson or a Hughes, but in reality I’m a Hollins. No way I’m going all the way in!

Ian Poulter’s video games

Being quarantined at the Poulter household wouldn’t be terrible.

The grind doesn’t stop for major champs

Padraig Harrington admitted he was lacking motivation, but that didn’t stop the three-time major champion from putting in some wedge work at home.

[opinary poll=”do-you-agree-with-the-pga-tour-cancellin-JWMD0u” customer=”golfweek”]

[lawrence-related id=778031680,778031659,778031584,778031577]