NEW TWIST: Ryder Cup Without Fans? Not So Fast

Some good news has begun trickling out this week about the state of golf. A number of courses, through multiple states began to open back up. However, as for professional golf there’s still a lot of moving pieces that need to be figured out.

One of the events that could be affected and has been spotlighted in recent days is the Ryder Cup. Even though it’s not slated until the end of September, there is a real concern that because of schedule changes and the possibility players and fans could still be exposed to COVID-19. The event may need to be played without fans.

But for Rory McIlroy, playing the Ryder Cup without fans is “Not a Ryder Cup.” Rory expounded on that statement by saying “That’s from a European, going to America, knowing that I’m going to get abuse. Obviously it would be better for Europeans to play without fans because we wouldn’t deal with some of the stuff that you have to put up with, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be a great spectacle. There would be no atmosphere.”

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His comments came after the CEO of the PGA, Seth Waugh talked about the possibility of playing the event without fans. “It’s hard to imagine one without fans,” Waugh said. “We have begun to talk about whether you could create some virtual fan experience, and we’re going to try to be as creative as we can. It’s [still] to be determined, frankly, whether you could hold it without fans or not.”

Some, including McIlroy have been strong proponents in the push to move the Ryder Cup back to 2021. Of course that could create its own problems. The Summer Olympics have already been pushed back to 2021 and because of that, the PGA TOUR schedule will be just as jam-packed as it was supposed to be this year. So playing the Ryder Cup this year, even without fans could make more sense in alleviating the pressure of that schedule. 

Regardless of what is decided, I’m sure the golf world will make a decision that is the best for the fans and the players. And hopefully by the time September comes around, this may not be an issue.

Cover Image Via Twitter