After an afternoon of hastily converting trends in the COVID-19 virus saga, Golf -- capitalized here because I'm regarding all of the governing bodies round the world -- determined that it's no longer secure in any case to compete for as a minimum a month. Here's Jay Monahan's brief statement, issued around 10pm ET Thursday night time:
It is with regret that we are saying the cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship.
We have additionally determined to cancel all PGA TOUR occasions ? Throughout all of our Tours ? Within the coming weeks, through the Valero Texas Open.
We have pledged from the start to be accountable, thoughtful and obvious with our choice technique. We did the whole lot feasible to create a safe surroundings for our gamers in an effort to keep the event all through the weekend, and we had been endeavoring to present our fans a miles-wanted respite from the present day climate. But at this point ? And as the scenario keeps to rapidly trade ? The proper component to do for our players and our lovers is to pause.
We will be prepared to answer additional questions on Friday at 8 a.m. Note that THE PLAYERS is cancelled -- it will not be rescheduled. The 2020 edition will simply be a footnote in golf history, a casualty of an unexpected pandemic.
While many are talking approximately this selection nearly being too past due, it is well worth remembering that the state of affairs in Florida modified dramatically in the hours after the Tour announced they meant to move on with Friday's round -- most appreciably, Disney World in Orlando become closed till the end of this month and the range of confirmed COVID-19 instances in the nation jumped nearly 50%. Jay Monahan did precisely what he said the Tour could do -- keep to screen the unexpectedly-converting situation and make new decisions if necessary.
The subsequent domino in line might be the Masters, as Valero is the ultimate event before the Tour heads to Augusta. The LPGA had already axed the ANA Inspiration, hoping this could be simply a postponement till later in the yr. I doubt the Masters group will wait till the last moment to make an assertion; that doesn't appear to be their style. I do not know how quickly to assume their selection. But given that many gamers show up a week early to start prep, I have problem believing it is going to be an awful lot later than the first of April.
With all the sports activities cancellations over the last couple of days (NASCAR and Indycar being the two exceptions left) it is going to be thrilling to look how tv handles the newly-opened airtime. GC will likely rebroadcast older variants of the activities that have been 'pre-empted' in addition to golf films, however CBS, NBC and their fellow stations will in all likelihood ought to scramble a chunk. March and April are heavy sports months in most years, so COVID-19 has thrown the enjoyment industry a huge curve.
It has been said that "the door of records swings on small hinges." I bet hinges don't get lots smaller than a pandemic. The big query is wherein will this door lead?
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