PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Friday’s second round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass has been canceled over coronavirus concerns
he PGA has canceled the remainder of The Players Championship, along with three tournaments leading up to The Masters.
“We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend,” the tour said in a statement. "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.''
Tour officials had planned to ban spectators for at least the next month, beginning with the second round today at TPC Sawgrass. Also shut down were the Valspar Championship next week near Tampa, the Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
So the last golf with fans turned out to be a calm Thursday on a dynamic Stadium Course on the TPC Sawgrass, where Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record with a 63. McIlroy and Brooks Koepka each had three birdies in the final hour to salvage their rough starts with 70s.
“At least they got to enjoy themselves for one day,” Rory McIlroy said.
And now there’s no golf at all, at least until the Masters.