The PGA Tour has announced plans to resume in June with the first four tournaments played behind closed doors.
The Tour has been suspended since 12 March because of the global coronavirus pandemic that has halted all golf.
The Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas is scheduled to be the first tournament back on 11-14 June.
“Our hope is to play a role – responsibly – in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
The golfing calendar has been severely disrupted because of the Covid-19 outbreak, with The Open Championship cancelled and the three other men’s majors rescheduled.
The RBC Heritage is due to be the second tournament back from 18-21 June – the original dates for the US Open, which has been moved to September.
The Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands is next from 25-28 June, followed by the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit GC from 2-5 July.
The Memorial Tournament, originally scheduled for 4-7 June, will now take place from 16-19 July, which is when the 149th Open Championship was due to be held at Royal St George’s in Kent.
The PGA Tour statement added: “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.”
In what could be a confusing summer and autumn, the PGA Tour will end its 2019-20 season and start the next one, with two of this year’s men’s majors still to be played.
The reorganised calendar will see the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational take place at the end of July, a week before the first men’s major of the year, the PGA Championship (6-9 August).
The final two weeks in August will see the start of the three events that make up the FedEx Cup Play-offs, with the season-ending Tour Championship taking place from 4-7 September.
The 2020-21 season starts the following week, but the US Open slots in from 17-20 September with the biennial Ryder Cup between the US and Europe the following week as originally scheduled, and the delayed Masters slated for 12-15 November.
Despite the announcement, Monahan insists the tournaments will only go ahead if it is deemed safe to do so by the authorities.
“Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future,” he said.
“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.”
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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