The year of Covid in the eyes of the leadership of the PGA and the European Tour

“For me, challenge is also an opportunity. This is one of the identities of golf, to give us more motivation to overcome a crisis. And now, to use that momentum to bring long-term benefits to the PGA.” Tour and the golf industry is the biggest challenge and opportunity because we are in the process of globalization of golf increasingly deep and wide, “said Jay Monahan, Special Envoy of PGA Tour in his year-end message.

This season, the PGA Tour is expected to have 50 official events of which 10 tournaments have passed and prepare for the Sentry Tournament of Champions from January 7 to 10, 2021. This is an annual event, welcoming the new year in Hawaii for the PGA Tour champions of the previous year.

“We are not done yet. The principles of operating the epidemic will continue to apply from Hawaii onwards. We need to tighten the health barrier to ensure the arena is uninterrupted and continuously human. fans are excited, “Monahan confirmed the stance of the PGA Tour.

“When Covid-19 broke out early in the year, we were all confused and confused about its aftermath because it was an unprecedented crisis. In March and April, it seemed like canceling or postponing it was everyday. As for the end of the schedule is impossible.In the first letter translated, although I can not guarantee anything but I guarantee to keep the golf fire with initiatives, such as virtual tournaments. And in the pandemic year, we’re still there, “European Tour CEO Keith Pelley wrote in an open letter before Christmas 2020.

European men’s golf arena rematches from July 9 with event in Austria. Since then, they have implemented 27 events, of which 15 stages have to be reworked from scratch, in addition to more than 20,000 PCR tests for live missionors in tournaments. Two weeks ago, the European Tour brought the curtain down with the DP World Tour Championship event in Dubai and announced the new season with at least 42 events in 24 countries.

March 12 noon – when NBA professional basketball pauses for translation, Monahan announced the main event The Players Championship will play closed to the closing day of March 15. But the same day, he announced the cancellation. And the next day, the most powerful figure PGA Tour announced the closure of the entire arena, including the Second Division group Korn Ferry Tour and the old general of Champions.

“Although extremely disappointed, we have to pause the season for the safety of the golfers and the fans,” Monahan said with a listless expression on March 13. At that time, the PGA Tour has finished 1/3 of the 2019-2020 season. Over the next few days, it was the LPGA Tour, the men’s and women’s European Tour took turns making a similar decision and the world rankings for men and women froze. For the next three months, they frequently used an upbeat style in their cancellation announcements.

At that time, Monahan and his counterpart Mike Whan at the LPGA Tour were both members of the Senior Advisory Board of the incumbent US President Donald Trump with the task of bringing golf back soon, synchronizing with the US socio-economic activities. . And every Sunday morning for the first six weeks of his hiatus, Monahan relieves pressure and stays healthy with rounds of golf on the Stadium and is also the battlefield for The Players Championship.

On June 11, PGA Tour re-exported with Charles Schwab Challenge and closed with Tour Championship. For nine months, the arena disturbed more than 10 events, both canceled and postponed. But for the whole season, the PGA Tour still generated $ 120 million for charity. And from the Charles Schwab Challenge, Monahan has retained all bracelets that certify him negative for Covid-19.

“When the PGA Tour comes back, we have to test every tournament. The bracelet shows two things. First, we’re negative and safe. Second, we have it to run the tournament. I keep it. The quarantine arms are also a testament to the great efforts of golfers, cadres, and the PGA Tour to run the event safely with high responsibility, “said Monahan. solution.

Quoc Huy