PGA Tour, the world’s biggest and most lucrative golf tour, is all set to resume activities in June but the first four events will be closed for public.
The development comes at a time when no sporting activities are taking place around the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the announcement, 14 events will be held in the season right up to Tour Championships ending on September 7 besides 13 FedExCup events, including the star-studded Hero World Challenge headlined by Tiger Woods.
“The health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR and our global community continues to be our No. 1 priority, and our hope is to play a role responsibly in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future, but as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume competition only when working closely with our tournaments, partners and communities it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”
The PGA Tour had previously targeted the week of the Charles Schwab Challenge (May 18-24) for the restart of the season, which has been suspended since THE PLAYERS Championship was cancelled on March 12.
For health and safety reasons due to Covid-19, the latest announcement delayed that timeline by three weeks to June 8, starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge and have additional tournaments being repositioned till the season’s conclusion, which is the TOUR Championship, ending on September 7.
The first four events will be closed to the general public. The Tour will monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market.
The Tour will continually review available Covid-19-related protocols that could be implemented at events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved. All three events that were previously scheduled between May 18 and June 8 the Charles Schwab Challenge, Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide have been moved to later dates in the calendar.
The RBC Heritage, originally slated for this week (April 13-19) but cancelled on March 17, has been added back to the schedule in the week formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, which has been postponed to September. Two events, the RBC Canadian Open and Barbasol Championship, are cancelled.
With 22 events having been played through the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the adjusted season-long schedule subject to change now consists of 36 events, including three FedExCup Playoffs events concluding with the TOUR Championship.
The Tour has also introduced the season-opening weeks of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season which has 13 FedExCup events, including the US Open and Masters Tournament. There will also be four other events, not counted towards FedExCup but sanctioned by PGA Tour and they include the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas from December 3 to 6, 2020.
