How Coronavirus (Covid-19) Has Affected The PGA

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Tiger Woods pitching in Japan

There is a new flu bug running around. You may have heard of it. SARS CoV-2 otherwise known as CoVid-19.

Sure, you are probably sitting here reading this while bored out of your mind on a soft quarantine. There is nothing worthwhile to watch in the wide world of sports on the television, no basketball, no baseball, no hockey, and wait … no golf either?

So when will the little dimpled ball take flight again?

Next Three Events Wrapped in Face Masks

Apparently there just isn’t enough hand sanitiser to go around at the PGA. They canceled The Players as well as the following three tournaments on the board. So, it looks like the Masters at least is just postponed, not fully canceled. The Valero Texas Open is canceled. The Coralas PuntaCana Resort and Club Championship is canceled, along with it’s $3 million dollar purse. The Valspar Championship at Copperhead which should have entertained us this weekend is also a no tee affair.

What Tiger Thinks

Tiger Woods has been out of the limelight for a bit. We haven’t seen a whole lot of him the press since the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in February. Apparently he’s been in a self-imposed quarantine for a few weeks.

He did recently come out on social media and say, “We need to be safe, smart and do what is best for ourselves, our loved ones and our community.’

So, unlike some athletes, who feel like they should play, Tiger’s are cautious. But would he feel this way if he was healthy and lined up in the top ten with a shot at taking it all this year? That’s debatable. In fact, Woods has had a tweaked back, so we weren’t likely to see him on the links until possibly, the Masters in July, so for him, this is great – not in a negative way. Obviously it’s a pandemic horrible thing–  But now Woods won’t be five or six strides behind the rest of the pack due to a bum back. The cancellations give him a chance to heal up and come back, more or less with everyone else.

He currently sits in 11th place, so missing a handful of events would have a detrimental impact if the others in top spots had continued to play. Now maybe he’ll be able to come back and keep in or around the top-10 in 2020. Always a threat at the Masters, Woods is listed tied for 4th on the odds boards to win at Agusta.

The PGA Cares … and They Show it with Food

The PGA has donated 22 tons of food to the state of Florida. There is even a nice PR picture up on Forbes.com showing Tour Commish, Jay Manohan delivering food to ‘those in need’ – well-dressed folks, talking on cellphones.

Still, despite the PR photo, it’s a pretty generous gesture that is very much needed. There are a lot of people making a lot less money right now, and with the streets emptied of their normal traffic, where are the homeless and panhandlers going to get the daily pittance that at least allows them to get a bite to eat.

With the Players Championship canceled, that 15 million dollar purse – highest on tour– wasn’t handed out. Granted, the media proceeds were not earned to generate that massive amount of money. But still, they partnered with Feeding Northeast Florida and gave away close to $700,000.00 worth of food – or if you are into units of measurement, 22 tons (44,000 pounds).

The Players getting canceled worked out well for the community. Caterers, Par Caterers, Proof of the Pudding, were already set up to provide that end of logistical support to all the players and staff for a week, not to mention all the food from the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. So, why not make use of it and give back to the community.

It was reported that from the first moments that the event got canceled, the PGA knew exactly what to do with all of that food.

It will be a while until we see a round of current professional golf. But, at least the PGA is doing what they can to help out the communities around the canceled events.

 

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