West Coast behind, more fans about to show up on PGA Tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The PGA Tour is approaching the one-year anniversary of when it shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Commissioner Jay Monahan is happy the tour has not had to stop at any point since it returned in June.

But only two domestic tournaments had limited fans — Houston in early November and Phoenix earlier this month. That was one aspect that surprised him.

"I thought by the time we came back here or The Players, we'd be much further along," Monahan said last week at Riviera. "But I'm thankful we are making progress. The fact we've been able to play every week has been fantastic. It's great for our players. They deserve all the credit. You can set the best plan, but if the players, caddies, everybody doesn't follow it, you may not be able to sustain."

There will be no fans at the Workday Championship in Florida, a one-time stop for the World Golf Championship that was supposed to be in

Mexico. After that, fans are slowly starting to reappear.

Bay Hill is allowing 25 percent of capacity next week in Orlando, Florida. The Players Championship is the following week and has sold tickets — they were gone in an hour — for roughly 20 percent capacity. The Honda Classic in South Florida will have limited fans the week after that.

The first two majors of the year also will have limited fans. The Masters already announced a reduced gallery, without saying how many.

The PGA Championship on Tuesday said it would cap attendance to 10,000 fans a day at Kiawah Island in South Carolina on May 20-23.

The PGA Championship already was a sellout and organizers are in the process of deciding who goes.

"While crowds will be smaller than originally planned, we know the passion for golf in the Carolinas will create a memorable atmosphere on-course and excitement throughout the region," PGA President Jim Richerson said.