Coronavirus: US golf events continue as planned but without fans

Next month's Masters is likely to be played behind closed doors after the PGA Tour announced that step from immediate effect at the build up events to the season's opening major.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the no spectator policy at US events at a press conference at Sawgrass during the opening round of The Players Championship. Picture: Getty Images

In a decision that has the support of US President Donald Trump, tournaments on the US circuit are going ahead as planned but without any spectators in attendance due to the coronavirus.

The policy will start for tomorrow's second round of The Players Championship in Florida and also take in the Valspar Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and Valero Texas Open. The latter is due to take place on 2-5 April - the week before The Masters.

President Trump has announced that the US is temporarily suspending travel from most of Europe to the US in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Golf has already been affected by the outbreak, with five events on the European Tour called off, leaving the schedule without a regular event until the end of April.

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, announced the decision to introduce spectator-free courses at US events for the time being at a press conference as the first round of The Players Championship was taking place at Sawgrass.

"Let me preface my remarks by reinforcing that the health and safety of our players, employees, partners, volunteers, fans and everybody associated with the PGA Tour is our top priority," he said.

"I’ve spoken to President Trump this morning, and I spoke to (Florida) Governor Ron DeSantis a few hours ago as well.

"Our team is in constant communication with local health authorities in each market in which our tournaments are played, and we are tracking and monitoring the health information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization in addition to the travel advisories provided by the US State Department.

"Both the White House and the Governor’s office have been and are supportive of the precautionary measures we have taken to this point."

Monahan added: "It goes without saying that this is an incredibly fluid and dynamic situation. We have been and are committed to being responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process.

"With that as pretext, at this point in time, PGA Tour events – across all Tours – will currently proceed as scheduled, but will do so without fans.

" This policy starts at The Players Championship tomorrow and continues through the Valero Texas Open. It’s important to note, that could change, but for the time being, this decision allows the PGA Tour, our fans and constituents to plan, prepare and respond as events develop.

"Further, the recently announced travel advisories and potential logistical issues associated with players and staff traveling internationally limit our ability to successfully stage the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.

"Therefore, we are going to postpone that event and will provide details in the coming weeks on a reschedule as this situation develops.

"We will continue The Players with essential personnel only, and we will be in direct conversations with those groups (vendors, broadcasters, media, player support groups, essential volunteers) to provide instructions."

The announcement came as tennis chiefs announced the ATP Tour was being shut down for six weeks while the MLS in the US is also being suspended for 30 days.

"This is a difficult situation, one with consequences that impact our players, fans and the communities in which we play," continued Monahan.

"As I said earlier this week, we’ve had a team in place that has been carefully monitoring and assessing the situation and its implications for several weeks.

"We’ve weighed all the options, and I appreciate the input and collaboration across the Tour, our industry, our partners and our members that got us to this point. We’ll continue with that collaboration, and I want to thank our fans for supporting the PGA Tour."