The PGA Tour will continue playing The Players Championship, its marquee tournament, this weekend, but without fans in attendance, starting Friday.
Latest statement from PGA Tour on Coronavirus pandemic. Press conference now pic.twitter.com/QkRlVNb31I
The ban on fans will include the remainder of this week’s tournament, as well as the Valspar Championship, the WGC Match Play event, and the Valero Texas Open ... in other words, tournaments right up to the Masters.
Earlier in the week, the Tour drew heat from what both players and observers thought was an insufficient response. Just after midnight Thursday morning, a few hours after the NBA suspended its season due to coronavirus concerns, and a few hours before the world’s best golfers were slated to tee off at The Players Championship, the PGA Tour released a statement on the prospects for the next day:
“The PGA TOUR is aware of rapidly changing developments regarding COVID-19.