Jay Monahan made clear this week that the PGA Tour would strictly enforce its safety protocolsGETTY IMAGES
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan's press conference on Wednesday at the Travelers Championship "was needed," because amid several positive tests for players and caddies, the Tour "had to remind everybody what was at stake," according to Joel Beall of GOLF DIGEST. Monahan emphasized abiding by the Tour's safety protocols, and during Thursday's Round 1, players were "keeping their distance from one another, leaving as many as three hitting bays open between them and their competitors." Almost everyone on the property "had their face covered, and those that didn’t were sometimes admonished." The "handful of withdrawals and Monahan’s message had been heard." Golfer Shane Lowry said it has been a “kick in the backside.” Sergio Garcia: “What we don’t want is people doing the wrong things and then putting other people in danger" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/25).
GETTING IN LINE: GOLFWEEK's David Dusek, appearing on N.Y.-based WFAN-AM on Thursday, said the players and the caddies "clearly have not been taking the pandemic, and staying inside the same bubbles that the PGA Tour is trying to create, seriously enough" (GOLFWEEK.com, 6/25). ESPN's Michael Collins: "We saw at that first event at Fort Worth, guys weren’t necessarily following all the social protocols, and the tour was doing everything they could, sending out text messages to players and caddies every single day, saying, ‘Remember, social distance. Wash all the clubs properly. Wash the flags and do what you have to with the rakes.’ There were plenty of guys out there who were saying that was not happening out there on the course. This may be the result of those protocols not being followed” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 6/24).
OUT OF TOUR'S CONTROL? GOLF DIGEST's Brian Wacker noted Tour officials "knew there would be positive tests, which is why it made several suggestions within its protocols to mitigate the risk." What has "become apparent is there’s very little that the Tour can truly control." Its guidelines are "merely that, and as such not enforceable." Total adherence is "difficult if not impossible given human nature." Though the Tour has "provided host hotels each week as an extension of its bubble, protection is something of a fallacy, because they are merely blocking off rooms rather than taking over the entire property, meaning there are hundreds of other people to account for who are coming and going" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 6/25). Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard said, "All along, they realized that if they were going to start this, they weren’t going to be able to build the bubble that the NBA is trying to build in Orlando." There were "always going to be cracks simply because each week the tour goes from tournament city to tournament city." They "understand that these things are going to happen," but they "need to tighten down as much as they can and move forward” (“Golf Central,” Golf Channel, 6/24).
SETTING THE EXAMPLE: ESPN's Michael Eaves said it was apparent that Monahan "knows the role that the Tour is playing as it relates to other sports that will come behind it." He "wants to set a good example to make his sport shine brightly, but that’s a lot of responsibility." Golf "won’t be played like the other sports are played” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 6/24).
