Getty Image / Tom Pennington
The PGA Tour recently laid out the health and safety procedures it will have in place as we fast approach the Tour’s restart date of June 11-14 for the Charles Schwab Challenge. While most players have expressed both comfort and confidence in the measures set to be taken, from multiple levels of testing to chartered flights, other players have voiced concerns.
Adam Scott, who is home in Australia at the moment, is one of a few international players that have said that they don’t have any plans to come back and play anytime soon due to being uncomfortable with the Tour’s plans.
Scott, the No. 6 player in the world, has plans to sit out the first six weeks after the Tour hits the restart button.
“They are being fairly thorough, but my initial reaction was I was surprised it wasn’t tighter than it is,” Scott told Evin Priest of the Australian Associated Press. “What concerns me is dialogue that [the tour] is hopeful of returning one- or two-hour test [results]. You’d want that in place before competing [rather than a one- or two-day test result]. The other [concern] is it seems an asymptomatic person could operate within a tournament.
“If they’re not showing symptoms and I somehow picked it up inside the course and I’m disqualified, I’m now self-isolating [in that city] for two weeks. I’d be annoyed if that happened. I thought you’d start quite tight and loosen those protocols to normal if appropriate.”
Indeed that is Adam’s real fear. He will be spending nine weeks away from his wife and children. Getting covid completely throws out those plans as he’d have to stay put in that city for two weeks. He knows he’s fit and healthy and unlikely to have a severe case
— Evin Priest (@EvinPriest) May 21, 2020
If all goes to plan, Scott plans to return to the States and play in the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational in late July, one week prior to the PGA Championship scheduled to be played in San Francisco.
He would then stay in the States through the rescheduled U.S. Open in September and possibly the Masters in November as well. Scott calls the Bahamas home when he’s not in Australia.
Testing and thermal readings are at the forefront of the health and safety plans. Players and caddies will be tested before they travel to tournaments and upon arrival and will be required to complete a daily questionnaire and temperature test. The test results from nasal swabs will reportedly take at least 24-48 hours.
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Mark is an associate editor at BroBible. Follow him on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris for the occasional good tweet. Feel free to contact him at Mark@BroBible.com.