On Behalf Of Golf: The PGA Tour Needs To Start Taking COVID-19 More Seriously, Pronto
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Everybody is watching.
That was Commissioner Jay Monahan’s statement at the PGA Tour’s first event back. And through two events—at least to anyone watching at home—the PGA Tour looks like a collection of very fine golfers, caddies, volunteers and officials who see themselves as above taking measures to ensure the safety of themselves or others.
Just consider the other sports on television this weekend while the storm-delayed RBC Heritage played out (ultimately won by Webb Simpson in the stunning Hilton Head twilight).
The Professional Bull Riders and everyone around them wore masks on CBS.
The pit crews and drivers at NASCAR have been showing on Fox broadcasts how seriously they are taking the privilege of competing in a time other sports are stalled (granted, they do have other disgusting and potentially fatal issues to deal with).
How about the USA Cornhole Club Championship on NBC Sports? Yep, distancing and masks.
Horse racing across the world has performed incredibly, with everything from Royal Ascot to Los Alamitos showing that life can temporarily go on in with masks.
And I’m sure if they still televised dog races, we’d see they’d be willing to follow protocols, too.
Then there is the pitiful performance of the PGA Tour, which, unlike the above mentioned sports, had a contestant test positive for the virus.
Did this result in an uptick in more careful behavior in front of CBS cameras this weekend? Or an appearance by a leading Tour official to address the situation?
Of course not.
While the CBS crew has been consistently seen complying with regulations and recommendations by wearing face coverage and spacing, the same cannot be said for players, caddies (except one!), volunteers, rules staff and tournament officials. Despite having a positive case on the grounds this week, the PGA Tour collective has not felt obligated to show they care about the welfare of others in this strange time where everybody is watching.
So it’s very much a bubble: one of denial and potentially expensive foolishness.
Many months into this pandemic we know golf courses are safe places to be and we’ve all agreed on one thing no matter our political persuasions: golf has so many benefits and courses are great places to go. Unfortunately the sport is hitched to a wagon that is rolling around the country flaunting basic rules and setting itself for a disaster, all in the name of chasing FedExCup points.
Consider the Nick Watney situation. He’s the unfortunate first of what will be many PGA Tour players who contract COVID-19 assuming things continue on the current reckless course of multiple lodging options, modes of transportation and overall virus denying.
While he was lauded for essentially turning himself in to be tested because his Whoop detected abnormal respiratory readings, Watney was also not feeling well. Yet he was allowed on the grounds of Harbour Town with possible symptoms, something that would get him turned away from every other functioning business on the planet.
Not the PGA Tour! Hey, got hit a bucket while we wait what will surely be a negative because you guys are athletes today like the game has never seen before and you won’t get viruses.
Eamon Lynch of Golfweek writes:
Consider its own statement announcing Watney’s withdrawal before his second round tee time: “On Friday, prior to arriving at the tournament, he indicated he had symptoms consistent with the illness,” it read.
The key word is “prior.”
Tour officials knew Watney was symptomatic before he arrived at the golf course so they had an obligation to isolate him from other competitors and people. Instead, he was able to stroll to the practice area while awaiting his test result. Perhaps there was a misguided notion that he could prepare to play should his test be negative, but that’s a laissez-faire luxury the Tour can ill afford in this hyper-sensitive environment.
The environment is hyper-sensitive for a very simple reason: this is a highly contagious virus that impacts different people in different ways.
We know from his caddie, Tony Navarro, that following the first round Watney was not feeling well, as reported by Steve DiMeglio:
“We played very early on Thursday, so we were up since 4 a.m. We finished by 11:30 and then hit balls for an hour and a half. Then we went to the house and he wanted to take a nap,” Navarro said. “He got up about 5 o’clock and said he didn’t feel good. He wears a monitor on his wrist that tracks his heart rate and it was kind of sending him some signs that alarmed him a little bit.”
A CBS report Saturday told us Watney felt fine all week and it was he who “pushed” to get tested “to protect the field.” If that is the case—likely a stretch—then this means the system devised by the PGA Tour is even more flawed than we ever imagined.
So what was the RBC Heritage field’s response after Watney entered the grounds to be tested and then went about his business, potentially infecting others? A weekend of no masks, rare distancing, no visible sanitizing practices, and an overall continued complacency. All of this played out on national TV where “everyone is watching” while the rest of the golf industry complies with basic standards.
What a mistake.
Even Sunday’s rain-delayed restart stood out to anyone who saw the players warming up on television or in person:
While they were not distancing during the rain-delay restart, at least Watney’s positive test might mean there are signs the players are listening.
From Steve DiMeglio’s Sunday report on uneasy feelings at Harbour Town.
“It definitely got me thinking about kind of everything that I’ve done this week,” Webb Simpson said. “I’ve tried to be really careful, but I could probably be more careful. I hadn’t really gone out to dinner. I’ve gotten takeout every night. But in terms of even wearing the mask, any time I’m out of my comfort zone away from the golf course, I think it’s smart.
“And really, the six-foot rule I’ve been good about, but I probably could be better. So it definitely got me thinking.”
Added Ryan Palmer: “Everything you do, you’ve got to pay attention.”
Uh, yeah, that’s the rest of the world at least a couple of months ago. Welcome aboard.
There was also this from Vaughn Taylor, one of the players who teed up with Watney in round one.
“Everyone has kind of ratcheted it up a little bit. Not hanging out with too many people, hanging with too many guys, stay out of restaurants and bars and those things. I think, if we do that, we should be safe. We’ve all got to keep that in the back of our mind and just be smart.
“It would be nice if we just had the ability to get tested whenever we like. Some guys want to get tested more. Some guys are comfortable with the way it is. I think it’s still a learning curve. I feel good that the Tour is going to get everything worked out.”
Daily screening and possibly daily testing would seem to be necessary if an asymptomatic Watney did have to “push” to be tested, as CBS reported. And certainly, better protocols are needed for players on site who feel symptoms so that they aren’t gallivanting around the grounds.
But more than the PGA Tour’s leaking bubble, a realization needs to kick in soon that the game and it’s corresponding $85 billion business sector is counting on the PGA Tour to not sully the sport’s reputation.
