PGA outlines plan to play
Players, caddies and key staff around them will be tested once a week for the new coronavirus, and everyone at the golf course will have their temperatures taken daily when the PGA Tour returns next month and tries to show it can resume with minimal risks.
Testing was a big part of the process outlined Wednesday that revealed significant changes to how tournaments are conducted.
No pro-ams. No spectators for at least a month, perhaps longer. No family members. No dry cleanTesting ing. And social distancing everywhere from the clubhouse to the practice range.
“Our goal is to minimize risk as much as possible, with the full understanding that there is no way to eliminate all of the risk,” said Andy Levinson, senior vice president of tournament administration for the tour. “But one of the best ways we can do that, to reduce the likelihood of exposure, is by limiting the number of people we have on site and limiting access to certain areas, keeping groups separated.”
It starts June 8-14 at Colonial with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
and social distancing was the backbone of the 37-page presentation titled “Return to Golf Events.” The idea is to keep players and essential staff in a bubble, and those estimated 400 people would be tested for COVID-19. Players would have a designated hotel unless they had other options the tour approved. Charter flights were made available for $600 a seat ($300 for caddies), and another test would be required before they fly and when they land in a new city for the next tournament.
Everyone on site will have thermal readings and a health questionnaire daily.