PGA Tour bans fans
These decisions are never easy
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The remainder of the 2019-2020 PGA Tour will take place without spectators as the United States battles the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, tournament officials said.
In a coordinated announcement, the remaining tournaments on the schedule said they would not host fans due to concerns over coronavirus.
All five tournaments held since the PGA Tour returned from its coronavirus shutdown in June have taken place without spectators.
Fans were initially allowed in this week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio, but that plan was scrapped after a sharp escalation in coronavirus cases.
The announcement means there will be no spectators in the climax of the season, which concludes with the FedEx Cup Playoff series’ Tour Championship, due to be held from 4 to 7 September in Atlanta.
“These decisions are never easy,” Tour Championship executive director Allison Fillmore said in a statement, describing the move as the “best decision for all involved.”
The two other legs of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the 20 to23 August Northern Trust at TPC Boston, and the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields, Illinois, will also be affected.
Fans will also not be in attendance at next week’s 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota and the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis from 30 July to 2 August.
The PGA of America had already announced that no spectators will be allowed at the PGA Championship at Harding Park, San Francisco from 6 to 9 August.