Mcilroy has ‘no problem’ heading to Covid hotspot California for first major
World No 1 Rory Mcilroy has “no problem” about heading to Covid hotspot California next month for the opening major of the 2020 season.
Gyms, churches and hairdressers have been told to close in more than half of California’s 58 counties after the state recorded more than 8,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. The spike has occurred in the countdown to the rescheduled US PGA Championship, which is set to take place behind closed doors at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco on 6-9 August.
“Look, there’s a lot of places in the United States right now that there’s a lot of cases, whether this is the second wave or still part of the first wave,” said Mcilroy, who is teeing up for a fourth time since the PGA Tour’s return in this week’s Memorial Tournament.
“But I think there’s no substitute for washing your hands and social distancing and making sure that you’re doing the right things. I think if everyone does that and everyone is responsible, I have no problem going to California and playing a golf tournament there.”
Mcilroy’s place at the top of the world rankings is under threat at Muirfield Village, where Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas have an opportunity to take over as No 1. “This is a huge event,” admitted Mcilroy. “I saw a stat yesterday that this field is stronger than the last eight Masters tournaments in terms of strength of field, so there’s a lot of obviously world ranking points, and there’s a lot to be focused on this week.
“I had planned to play the Workday (the first leg of a double-header at Muirfield Village last week), but I just needed to do a little bit of work on my game.”