One organization that has stayed relatively quiet in the midst of all the COVID-19 chaos is the PGA. While free agency and talks of re-location keep the NBA and MLB busy, the PGA has halted this year’s tour, and quietly sized up their possibilities for when it may return.
On Thursday this week, the PGA announced their plans to return in mid-June with the Charles Schwab tournament. The PGA announced that the schedule of events will look a little bit different through Thanksgiving, due to the weeks they have missed and will miss from March through the first week of June.
The Charles Schwab tournament is schedule from June 11 through the 14, in Fort Worth, Texas. If health and government officials sign off, the event will be held at Colonial Country Club with no spectators in attendance. The tournament was rescheduled from its original date in late May.
If all the hypotheticals play out in their favor, there would be nearly six months straight of golf, up until Thanksgiving in late November. Unfortunately, the 2020 seasons major championships have been replaced on the schedule with regular PGA tour events.
Tour commissioner Jay Monohan spoke on the matter this past week. “The health and safety of all associated with the PGA Tour and our global community continues to be our number one priority, and our hope is to play a role — responsibly — in the things we love,” he said.
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Monohan noted that they will only resume competition when working together “is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”
As of right now, the first four events on the slate are due to take place without fans and spectators.
In March, the PGA was put on hold, just like many other sports organization, unfortunately the harsh decisions were made after just one round of the Player’s Championship. Following that, the Tour decided to cancel seven consecutive events, including the RBC Heritage, which was slated for this week. It has now been moved to the week following the Schwab tournament.
Recently, the R&A announced the new dates and locations for the major championships. The Open Championship was canceled for this year, which normally takes place at Royal St. George’s in England, however, the PGA Championship will be played at Harding Park in San Francisco on August 6-9. The U.S. Open will be at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York from September 17-20. Finally, the Masters will be in Augusta as usual from November 12-15.
If all goes smoothly, which it most likely will not, the schedule will end with the FedEx Cup playoffs on Labor Day weekend on September 7. The new 2020-2021 season would begin the next week at the Safeway Championship, starting September 10.
Unfortunately, this new and revised schedule, which still remains up in the air, would slate just one major championship for the 2020 season, but fans as patient as those in the PGA, will be blessed with 6 majors in the 2021 season.
