LOS ANGELES • The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, will use high-tech radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in tournament badges to ensure social distancing is maintained at the July 16-19 PGA Tour event, Golf Digest reported on Saturday night.
The tracking system was just one of several measures that will be put in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic that has wrecked havoc with world sport, forcing a reworking of the Tour calendar.
The 2019-20 season, which was halted on March 12 owing to Covid-19, is scheduled to resume with the June 11-14 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Tour's first four events will be held behind closed doors, so the first tournament tentatively preparing for the possibility of spectators is the July 9-12 John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois, followed by the Memorial.
Memorial director Dan Sullivan has already indicated there are no plans to allow a full gallery, with only a limited number of fans permitted to be on the Muirfield Village course.
Movements will also be restricted and monitored, and other protocols, according to the report, include limiting ticket sales; the elimination of all grandstands; the provision of face masks for staff and volunteers; and mandatory temperature taking for all players, caddies, staff and visitors.
The sale of draft beer and fountain drinks will be prohibited while all transactions will be restricted to credit cards to maintain safe distancing.
Sullivan said: "At any time, we can know around the golf course how many people are collecting in a certain area. We're going to use that technology to make sure that we're protecting everyone around us... make sure that we're monitoring effectively and producing a tournament that everyone can be comfortable with."
RFID technology has been used the last four years at Memorial to monitor entrances and exits and identify crowd choke points, but will play a much more important role at this year's event.
Acknowledging the Covid-19 situation remains fluid and is ever-changing, John Deere director Clair Peterson told Golf Digest there were no guarantees that supporters could be present at their tournament or Memorial.
"It's a common misconception, based on the initial news release, that the first four events are not having fans, but it never really said our event is going to have fans," she said. "We're trying to work through all of the obvious considerations, which includes all of the Illinois restrictions.
July When the first PGA Tour golf tournament where fans, with social distancing guidelines enforced, will be welcome.
"Who knows? Memorial could be the first event with fans if we do not have them, but they're in the exact same position of not knowing what will be permissible. But they have to make every preparation possible, as we are."
Meanwhile, the PGA of Australia Tour will be extended from this season with tournaments staged well into the new year, it announced yesterday. The move was triggered by the social distancing restrictions put in place to contain the pandemic, which is disrupting a season that would usually be wrapped up by the end of the year.
The Australian PGA has decided to make the extended season "the new norm" and allow the possibility of adding new tournaments in January and February in years to come.
"We saw an opportunity to not only provide our players with a full season this year, but put in place a schedule that we believe is in the best interests of golf in Australia," tournaments director Nick Dastey said. "If the current restrictions do not ease in time, we now have the opportunity to push events into the early months of 2021."
The Tour's flagship event, the Australian PGA Championship, will not be impacted and will take place at the Royal Queensland Golf Club from Dec 3-6.
REUTERS
