The US PGA Tour on Thursday announced plans to resume in June, with the first four tournaments being closed to spectators due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The tour suspended its season after the first round of the Players Championship last month, previously targeting a return on May 21.
The extended suspension means that the Canadian Open and the Barbasol Championship have been canceled.
The postponed Charles Schwab Challenge, which tees off on June 11 in Fort Worth, Texas, is scheduled to be the first event after the resumption.
“The health and safety of all associated with the PGA Tour and our global community continues to be our number one 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.
He added: “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.”
There are now 14 events listed for the 2019-20 PGA Tour season.
Former PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas said he is in favour of the plan.
“I love that the PGA Tour put something out there,” Thomas said. “If it happens or not is an unknown since everyone’s safety remains a top priority. But to have them put the effort to show us a plan is great.”
In addition to the Charles Schwab Challenge, the tournaments scheduled to be held without fans are the RBC Heritage (June 18-21) in Hilton Head, South Carolina; the Travelers Championship (June 25-28) in Cromwell, Connecticut; and the Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 2-5) in Detroit.
The only major championship left on the 2019-20 calendar is the PGA Championship from August 6-9 in San Francisco.
Under the current plan, the FedEx Cup playoffs for the 2019-20 season will wrap up with the September 4-7 Tour Championship in Atlanta.
As part of their return, the PGA wants to ramp up testing.
“We see changes and developments being made in the world of testing, available tests,” said Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s chief tournament and competitions officer. “We’re following very closely through the assistance of our expert medical advisers the development of more large-scale testing capabilities. (AFP)
