Even though golf has returned, the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic are still being felt through the industry.
As the PGA Championship started at TPC Harding Park this week, the PGA Tour confirmed a number of job cuts to staff personnel, including many who work for PGATour.com.
The Tour did not reveal the number of individuals laid off, but PGA Tour Vice President of Communications Joel Schuchmann said the moves will help position the Tour moving forward.
“As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PGA Tour – much like many other organizations – has had to identify ways to streamline our operations,” Schuchmann said in a statement.
“While it is never easy to say goodbye to valuable members of the Tour family, this week’s targeted job cuts will allow us to most efficiently deal with the current climate and prepare for 2021 and beyond.”
Without ticket sales and with a number of events eliminated from the 2019-20 schedule, the Tour is dealing with reduced revenues.
Purses haven’t been cut for those events that have been played, but the Tour is also trying to fend off advances from the Premier Golf League, which, according to a recent report in The Guardian, sent formal offer letters worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” to a handful of players.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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