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The Players Championship was canceled last Thursday due to the Coronavirus. The PGA Tour released a statement saying all tournaments through the Masters would either be canceled or postponed.
Coronavirus has canceled everything
Despite the Coronavirus, PGA started the Players Championship last Thursday with fans in attendance. PGA later put out a statement stating there would be no fans in attendance for at least the next month.
Commissioner Monahan says he spoke to President Trump (!) and Florida governor Ron DeSantis this morning. Says health of everyone is the priority…then says PGA Tour events will proceed as scheduled without fans. Golf goes on.
— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) March 12, 2020
That changed quickly when PGA canceled the Players Championship after the first round had begun. PGA also said they were canceling all tournaments through the Valero Texas Open. This included postponing the Masters which was scheduled to take place April 6-12.
Second text says that all events through the Valero Texas Open have also been canceled. https://t.co/Y3aCswvWNS
— Daniel Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) March 13, 2020
PGA put out an updated statement yesterday saying that all events through the PGA Championship have been either postponed or canceled. The championship was scheduled for May 11-17 but has been postponed.
“We have pledged from the start to be responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process,” the Tour said in a statement. “We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavoring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate. But at this point—and as the situation continues to rapidly change—the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
Eight of the eleven tours that were scheduled to take place over the next two months have been canceled. PGA has not announced any new dates for the three events that were postponed. PGA is continuing to monitor recommendations made by the government and CDC. They plan to update the schedule in the upcoming weeks.
Other cancelations
The NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS have all suspended or postponed their operations in the last 24 hours before PGA did the same. ATP and WTA tours were suspended Thursday along with the XFL being canceled.
The 2020 men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments were also canceled Thursday. The SEC officially announced the cancelation of all spring sports competitions for the remainder of the season including spring football games.
