PGA Tour Presents Players With Health & Safety Plans, Including A Recommendation To Use Avis Rental Cars

GolfDigest.com’s Brian Wacker reports on the 37-page “deck” provided to players and PGA Tour constituents outlining the “Return To Golf Events” starting June 11-14 at Colonial.

Chief among the plan’s tenets is that COVID-19 testing will be required of players as a condition of competition, similar to that of the organization’s drug policy. Testing protocols will include three methods—a questionnaire, thermal reading and nasal swab or saliva test. Players and caddies will have to be screened pre-travel, upon arrival with all three methods and daily with a questionnaire and thermal reading.

According to the document, the results from nasal swabs will take at least 24-48 hours. Players who are waiting for test results may practice or play on-site but will have no access to course facilities.

Parking lot shoe change for you.

Should someone test positive for COVID-19, they will be required to self isolate for a minimum of 10 days with no subsequent symptoms, or two negative test results at least 24 hours apart. The Tour and tournament would provide support throughout the isolation period and travel home by car would be allowed if deemed safe.

So just remember, rent with Avis and hopefully they’ll be flexible on the drop off location. Likely to be DFW but could be somewhere in Florida, too.

Speaking of Avis, the PGA Tour’s “official rental car” got a nice shoutout in the document’s transportation slide that, along with select other screen grabs, were shared with me:

As for testing, the document notes players, caddies and volunteers will get that picked up by the Tour. Media? No. And the television crew situation will be addressed by the networks, with information coming at a later date.

Here is the testing summed up by Rex Hoggard at GolfChannel.com:

Results for the PCR nasal swabs will take 24-48 hours and those waiting for results can still practice and play but will not have access to other onsite facilities.

“In implementing our testing plan, we will not do so in a manner that takes away from testing and medical resources in the communities in which we play or for affected groups in those communities,” the plan read.

Those who test positive will not be allowed to continue with the competition and, per federal and local health guidelines, they will be isolated for at least 10 days. A player who tests positive after making the cut at an event will receive last place earnings.

And one can presume, though one never knows when talking about something so precious, last place FedExCup points.

The document’s is, mercifully, reassuring when it comes to the Tour’s priorities.

I found this item on scoring and roping of interest, though it was the Masters scoreboard clipart that temporarily had me wondering if manual scoreboards were making some sort of retro-infused comeback.

Of course it’s not all about health and safety, commerce must go on and various acronyms are exploring all forms of exposure. Wait, maybe that’s not the best word these days.

Speaking of commerce, the ten-percenters and their stand-ins are not welcome on site, but the other folks who can work out a few kinks will be there.

Oddly, the on-site media will be allowed, but not tested, just temperature checked and asked questions. That could return misleading numbers since we all know how hot writers get when shuttles fail to run on time or the WiFi drops to double-digit download speeds.

On the full Orwellian front, “pool” reporters will be used to lob softer balls than normal. And if they bring a recording device capturing what someone actually says, life in prison awaits.

Oh, and approval of interviews of the independent contractors, is necessary:

All in all I’d say the plan appears well thought out and logical, with caddies getting to act like they normally do, the necessary folks allowed on site and safety well-considered. But it’s also amazing how many questions need resolution with just under four weeks to go and the folks working in enclosed spaces—media and TV—not inside of the regrettably termed “bubble”.