PGA Tour unveils plan for restart
The PGA Tour laid out an ambitious plan Thursday to resume its season the second week of June and keep fans away for at least a month, conceding that any return to golf depends on whether it can be played safely amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, was pushed back to June 11-14. Assuming golf gets the green light from government and health officials, the tour then would have an event every week through Dec. 6 except for a Thanksgiving break.
“Our hope is to play a role — responsibly — in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “But as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume only when it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”
Golf is the first sport to announce plans for a restart, although its arenas are far different from other sports because it is played over some 400 acres. It was the second big step to try to salvage the year, following last week’s announcement of three majors — including the Masters in November — going later in the year.
If all goes according to plan, the season would end on Sept. 7 at the Tour Championship. That would be a 36tournament schedule, down from 48 tournaments on the original schedule.
This season could have only one major championship; the PGA Championship is scheduled for Aug. 6-9 at Harding Park in San Francisco. The following season could have two Masters, two U.S. Opens, the PGA Championship and the British Open.
Baseball: A’s minor league manager Webster Garrison has resumed breathing completely on his own for the first time in more than three weeks and no longer requires a ventilator as he fights the coronavirus. Garrison, 54, is hospitalized in his home state of Louisiana.
Basketball: Top recruit Jalen Green announced that he’s skipping college and has signed with the G League for next season. Green, a guard from Napa, California who was considered by some as the No. 1 overall recruit in this year’s high school class, will be eligible for the 2021 NBA draft. Memphis, Florida State and Auburn were among the schools courting Green.
Socccer: UEFA is hoping the Champions League final can be played at the end of August in Istanbul, three months after the competition’s showpiece was due to be staged. The aim is to play the final on Saturday, Aug. 29 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, the AP reported. That date is only feasible if European leagues are able to resume playing around July or August.
Tennis: A decision on whether to postpone or cancel the U.S. Open because of the coronavirus pandemic is expected by June, U.S. Tennis Association CEO Mike Dowse said in a conference call, calling the prospect of holding the Grand Slam tournament without spectators “highly unlikely.” “Time is on our side, at this point,” Dowse said, because the U.S. Open isn’t scheduled to begin until late August. The tournament in New York would be the next major championship on the calendar; the French Open’s start was postponed from May until September, and Wimbledon was canceled altogether. Dowse also discussed the USTA’s plan to oversee a commitment of more than $50 million to help tennis deal with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak at the grassroots level.