Out of bounds
weeks ago with a level of concern of how it would impact upon my job has escalated as I have now turned all my attention to the safety and health of all of my immediate family.
I really can’t even think about my careerrightnowasitiswaydownthe list in my priorities at the moment.
I had been looking forward to getting started again so much as I haven’t actually played a tour event since last October as I had injured my elbow, which meant I missed a substantial number of big events on the Staysure Tour at the end of last season. “Whilst rehabbing that particular injury through the winter months and progressing and increasing my practice in anticipation of the start of my season, I was looking forward to getting back into it all again.
Even as I approach my 60th birthday at the end of this month, I still have the desire and work ethic to keep going every spring. But, as much as I am still practising as much as I can under the enforcements we are facing, as much for the fresh air as anything, I know it’s going to be a long time until we can entertain resuming normal tour life.
I think there has to be some element of realism here that it is entirely possible we may not play one event this season. As much as that is a sobering prospect for us as a family as I still have a family to provide for and support, it isn’t really as important as saving lives.
My wife worked as a registered staff nurse for ten years before we got married and had our family. It is those people that are going to be in the frontline in the next few weeks and months that we must think of themostrightnowandofferasmuch support to them as well as family and our neighbours and friends.”
Last week’s scheduled Saudi Ladies International on the LET was postponed along with a number of LPGA events, with the opening women’s major of season, the ANA Inspiration rescheduled in September
From what seemed a small problem at the start of the year when the LPGA Asian events in China, Thailand and Singapore were cancelled to where we are now, I still can’t quite get my head around it.
We were in Australia at the time and we all thought it would be an issue mainly in Asia, but then it gradually became more and more of a global issue once the virus started to spread.
Now everyone seems to be affected all over the world.
It is hard to see when we might play competitive golf again. I am hoping we can play and get back to normal by the summertime, but the situation is so fluid that no one really knows how the situation will be in a few months.
It is hard for all of us, but I feel really sorry for the rookies who have just qualified for the LET or the LPGA and are desperate to get a start in an event and make their mark.
It is going to be tough not knowing when we will have an opportunity to play for some prize money again. In our off season we have time off but we always have a date or a tournament to aim for. Now everyone’s guess is as good as mine to when we might play again.
Every player is in a different position financially, some may need to try to get a job in the meantime which in itself won’t be easy at a time like this.
But, hopefully, we can all get through these few months or however long it ends up being and come out stronger together.
Two events in the Czech Republic and one in Slovakia have been cancelled, with the Challenge de España moved from mid-may to early July. was meant to be going to the United States for a few weeks to get ready for the start of the main part of the season, but that trip had to be cancelled.
I think the biggest problem we are all finding is the ‘unknown’. Nobody really knows what is going to happen, so it is very difficult to predict what will lie ahead in the coming months. I think all we can do is try to stay sharp and see what happens come May time.
It was great to get my first full season on the Challenge Tour off to an encouraging start in South Africa earlier in the year, so this is particularly frustrating for me.
But there will be plenty of other guys in a similar situation as me, so all we can do is wait and see how everything pans out. Right now I would say it doesn’t look all that good moving forward. We are in for a very interesting few months, I think.
Entire 2020 schedule cancelled, including scheduled visits to Montrose Golf Links and Leven Links. he news about our tour being cancelled did not surprise me as they were calling off European Tour and Challenge Tour events as the weeks go on. So the right thing to do would be to follow suit.
I think the PGA Europro Tour organisers have released this news as late as they could have considering the first stage of the Qualifying School was due to start in two weeks’ time.
The qualifying schools of all tours are a big earner and help with the cashflow for the tour’s year. Without them, it’s impossible to run the tours as well as they do. Maybe the situation we are in now justifies the European Tour Qualifying School entry fee of £1800.
I feel the PGA Europro Tour’s statement saying there may be some events towards the end of the year is false hope. I hope I am wrong, but when we get through this it’s going to be a great scapegoat for companies to bow out of any possible future sponsorship opportunities with ‘ah, we’ve tightened up the purse strings due to the coronavirus’.
Thankfully, I have been working full-time since coming home from the second stage of the European Tour School in mid-november and also done some other bits and bobs throughout. So, luckily, I will have an April wage. I finished my work last Thursday, however, to concentrate on getting ready for the start of the new season, so I will be calling the officelookingformyjobback,ithink!
I fear for the guys who have been full-time for years making a decent living from the game, built up a nice style of living etc who will be looking like picking up a minimum wage job to try to bridge the gap on the bills.
I had been hoping that we could keep playing on the Big Johnson’s Tour, a home-based circuit, that I run. Our first pro-only event this season was last Thursday at St Andrews Jubilee, which was full with four players on the reserve list.
Our first one pro, one amateur event was on Monday at Archerfield, and we were trying to add more events to our schedule, but the circuit is now on hold following Monday’s virtual lockdown.
The five golfers were talking to Martin Dempster