The PGA Tour is planning on returning the week of June 8, with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth, Texas. The event will feature 144 players, including half of the world top 10, as pro golf looks to make a splash in the resumption of it season.
However, there won't be fans allowed at Colonial. The PGA Tour has said it will prohibit fans from attending at least the first four events up its return:
- June 11-14: Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial CC, Ft. Worth, Texas
- June 18-21: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town GL, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
- June 25-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
- July 2-5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit GC, Detroit, Mich.
Those tournaments will definitely, absolutely not allow fans. That is the PGA Tour's plan, and it won't change.
That means the first tournament at which fans could potentially return is the John Deere Classic, played at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., from July 9-12.
Tournament officials for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, which will be played the following week, are preparing for having fans, including using RFID tags in ticket badges to track where fans are congregated, not using grandstands and other measures. However, it is not absolutely guaranteed that Memorial or any other upcoming tournament will have fans.
“It’s going to be dependent on local, state and federal regulations that will largely dictate when we’re able to resume having some number of fans,” said Andy Pazder, PGA Tour Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer. “I would absolutely anticipate that whenever that occurs, it would initially be on a limited basis to ease ourselves back into spectators being on site.”
With each jurisdiction determining what will be allowed, PGA Tour events beginning with the Deere are planning for three possibilities, including playing with fans, with a limited number of fans or without any fans. That will likely mean prioritizing fans with grounds passes and limiting or removing bleacher seating. It's also possible that conditions will change, requiring tournament officials to change plans with short notice. The hope is they'll be ready, no matter the situation when tournament week begins at each stop.
