CLEVELAND — Golf is coming back, or at least that's the plan for now.
According to a report from Brian Wacker of Golf Digest, the PGA Tour is planning to announce it will resume its season June 11-14 for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Fans will not be allowed to attend, and the Tour says it will follow ""health and safety guidelines set by government and health officials."
Over the last several weeks, professional and college sports have been halted amid the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA season was suspended on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Shortly after that college basketball was shut down with the NCAA Tournament cancelled, Major League Baseball never got the 2020 season started, and college spring sports were stopped.
The PGA played out the first round of The PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla. but the rest of the tournament was cancelled prior to second round play due to concerns over COVID-19.
Early tournaments in the PGA summer schedule are also expected to not have fans in attendance. The report by Wacker also maps out the rest of the golf season that the PGA is hoping to play and is expected to announce later this week. It goes as follows:
- June 25-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut (Keeps original date)
- July 2-5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club (Moves from May 28-31)
- July 9-12: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill. (Keeps original date)
- July 16-19: Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village G.C., Dublin, Ohio (Moves from June 4-7)
- July 23-26: 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota (Keeps original date)
- July 30-Aug. 2: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, Memphis (Moves from July 2-5)
- July 30-Aug. 2: Barracuda Championship, Tahoe Mt. Club, Truckee, California (Moves from July 2-5)
The report then goes on to give the following dates:
- Aug. 6-9: PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco
- Aug. 13-16: Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield C.C., Greensboro, N.C.
- Aug. 20-23: The Northern Trust, TPC Boston
- Aug. 27-30: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club
- Sept. 3-7: Tour Championship, East Lake G.C., Atlanta
- Sept. 17-20: U.S. Open, Winged Foot G.C., Mamaroneck, N.Y.
- Sept. 25-27: Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits, Haven, Wis.
- Nov. 12-15: The Masters, Augusta National G.C., Augusta, Ga.
One mainstay tournament will still not be played, however: The Open Championship, which was cancelled for the first time since World War II presumably so the R&A in Europe could collect an insurance policy. The oldest of the four majors was scheduled to take place at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England.
No other pro sports leagues have announced their exact plans to return, however during his White House briefing on Tuesday President Donald Trump mentioned his hope for sports to return and mentioned a committee that consists of several sports commissioners and owners that will be consulted in re-opening the country. Trump repeatedly said, "We need to get our sports back."