A steady diet of limited fans on PGA Golf Tour
AUGUSTA: The roars returned to the Masters; at least two of them.
There were enough spectators, believed to be roughly 8,000 a day, to at least bring some sound back to the gorgeous scenery of Augusta National in April. And they stood six-deep over the final 100 yards of the 18th green — masks on — as Hideki Matsuyama walked up the hill to a one-shot victory.
Missing was that head-turning volume, a brief burst of cheers that made spectators look around and try to figure out where it came from and what they were missing.
One of those roars was for Tommy Fleetwood, making a hole-in-one on the 16th hole in the opening round. The loudest of the week was for Corey Conners,
making his ace on the sixth hole.
But it was progress, and that goes for the rest of golf.
Spectators in limited numbers returned this year at the Phoenix Open — compared with other years in Phoenix, that would be very limited — and have been a part of Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour events ever since the tour left California.
The next test is not so much who has spectators, but how many? And the most questions surround the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio on the first week in June.
The tournament posted on its website efforts to plan for “as safe of an experience as possible” and that it will decide while consulting with local and state governments and the tour.
The tournament said it has temporarily suspended badge sales to best manage the ticketing process. Fans are asked to sign up on a wait list, and they will be contacted “should additional badges become available.”
The Memorial last year had a detailed plan for spectators that had been approved by the state until it was decided 10 days before the start of the tournament that there would be none. A small grandstand by the 18th hole and some concession structures were still up during the tournament.
At least some spectators would be expected everywhere else on the upcoming tour schedule. The RBC Heritage this week has allowed 20 percent capacity at Hilton Head.
That will be followed by the Zurich Classic in Avondale, Louisiana (up to 10,000 a day); the Valspar Championship in the Tampa Bay, Florida area (20to 30-percent capacity); the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina (maximum 30% capacity); the AT&T Bryon Nelson in Dallas (10,000 a day); the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina (10,000 a day); and the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas (10,000 a day).
Colonial last year was the first event back from the pandemic. Hilton Head moved to June, and the PGA Championship went from May to August. The rest of them, between now and Memorial, were canceled.