PGA Champion Brooks Koepka will have a lot of peace and quiet when he goes for a three-peat at Harding Park in August.
The PGA Of America now now verified what everyone suspected all along — the 2020 PGA Championship will be staged without any spectators on site at Harding Park in San Francisco.
The PGA Tour will see limited crowds next month at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village where Tiger Woods is expected to make his first appearance since the re-start two weeks ago.
But California is a different animal from Ohio.
City officials have opted to prohibit spectators at Harding Park. It’s not surprising. San Francisco has a lot of people and California COVID-19 lockdowns have been strict.
Of course San Francisco Mayor London Breed did the old political two-step with a scripted statement:
“We are able to safely take this step toward reopening because of the ongoing sacrifices of our citizens, the continued committed work of our healthcare workers and the early action we took to battle COVID-19.”
Yeah, sure London.
Then PGA Of America Chief Executive Seth Waugh put in his two cents:
“We’d like to thank the state of California and the city and county of San Francisco for being terrific partners in helping us get to this place. While the local community cannot be with us physically on-site, we will certainly carry their spirit of resilience and unity with us as we stage our major championship, on their behalf, for all the world to see and enjoy.”
Okay, thanks Seth.
Yes, Seth had a lot on his plate to start the week.
The famous U.K. tabloid — The Guardian — threw out a report that the 2020 Ryder Cup will be pushed to 2021.
So yes, you can have a PGA Championship, the season’s first major, without fans.
But the Ryder Cup?
Probably not.
Webb Simpson Jumps To Fifth In OWGR:
Webb Simpson’s win at Harbour Town jumped him to No. 5 in this week’s Official World Golf Rankings.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm remain one-two while Justin Thomas leapfrogged Brooks Koepka into the No. 3 spot with Koepka now at No. 4.
Dustin Johnson fell to sixth, the first time in a long time he’s been outside the top five.
Patrick Reed check in at No. 7 followed by Adam Scott (8), Pat Cantlay (9) and Xander Schauffele (10). Bryson DeChambeau is No. 11 while Tiger Woods sits at No. 14.
One Comment
baxter cepeda
I learned from a movie once never say never.
The decision makers here are doing the right thing.
The pga of America had a chance to move the event to one of the places most likely to allow some fans, but they made their choice.
What I know is there is no certainty when all these corona issues will go away. Every big sporting event is lesser with less fans or sans fans, but as they say, the show must go on in this new norm … for who knows how long.
But never say never…