PGA Tour announces plans to restart events in US in mid-June

While acknowledging the final decisions will come down to public health authorities, the PGA Tour has confirmed plans to resume the US-based circuit in June, with the first four tournaments being closed to spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The PGA Tour has announced its revamped schedule, which is set to start with four events without any fans.

As had been predicted, the Charles Schwab Challenge, set to take place on 11-14 June at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, is scheduled to be the first event after a a shutdown since the opening round of the Players Championship on 12 March.

The Texas event takes the place of the RBS Canadian Open, which has been cancelled along with the Barbasol Championship, which was due to be played in Kentucky in mid-July.

The RBC Heritage at Hilton Head (18-21 July), Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell (25-28 July) and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit follow on from the Charles Schwab Challenge, with all four being played with no fans in attendance.

“The health and safety of all associated with the PGA Tour and our global community continues to be our No 1 priority, and our hope is to play a role – responsibly – in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,” said the circuit's Commissioner, Jay Monahan.

“Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future, but as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume competition only when - working closely with our tournaments, partners and communities - it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”

The first three men's majors of the year - the Masters, US PGA Championship and US Open have all been rescheduled for later in the year after being postponed, with the 149th Open Championship, due to be held at Royal St George's in July, recently being cancelled by the R&A.

As a result, September's US Open and November's rescheduled Masters will form part of the PGA Tour's 2020-21 season, with 14 events remaining on the 2019-20 calendar.

A PGA Tour statement read: "At this time, the Tour plans to resume play with the first four events closed to the general public but will continue to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market.

"As such, the Tour will continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA Tour events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved."

Monahan and his team had previously targeted the original week of the Charles Schwab Challenge - 21-24 May - as the restart of the season.

All three events that were previously scheduled between 18 May and 8 June – the Charles Schwab Challenge, Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Memorial Tournament – have been moved to later dates in the calendar.

The RBC Heritage, originally set for this week but cancelled on 17 March, has been added back to the schedule in the week formerly occupied by the US Open, which, as previously announced, has been postponed to September.

Three invitational events on the updated schedule - the Charles Schwab Challenge (120 players), RBC Heritage (132 players) and the Memorial Tournament (120 players) - will see their respective field sizes increase to 144 to provide additional playing opportunities for Tour members.

Revised 2019-20 PGA Tour schedule:

June 8-14: Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas

June 15-21: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina

June 22-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut

July 2-July 5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan

July 6-12: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois

July 13-19: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio

July 20-26: 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota

July 27-August 2: World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee

July 27-August 2: Barracuda Championship, Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California

August 3-9: PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California

August 10-16: Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina

August 17-23: The Northern Trust Open, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts

August 24-30: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields Country Club (North), Olympia Fields, Illinois

August 31-September 7: TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia