PGA TOUR: There is NO SUCH THING as a Pandemic-Free Bubble

How the PGA Tour tried and realized this pandemic can’t be managed

You were excited. I was excited. Sports!

Finally, after three months of pandemic closures, professional sports were coming back. The PGA Tour, NASCAR, and UFC got the ball rolling to give us a little more normalcy in this alternative reality which is anything but normal.

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And what happened? The UFC quickly had a fighter test positive for COVID-19, and then after just one week of Tour action, pro Nick Watney withdrew from the RBC Heritage because he came down with the virus. He’s now self isolating in South Carolina. Luckily, none of the other caddies or players in his group have tested positive.

As we get ready for the PGA Tour to take over Hartford, the coronavirus popped into the picture once again but in a much bigger way:

Brooks Koepka is out of this week’s event due to an abundance of caution as his caddie, Ricky Elliot, was diagnosed.

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Ken Comboy, caddie for Graeme McDowell, contracted COVID-19 and McDowell has withdrawn for the same reasons as Koepka.

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Cameron Champ, a two-time Tour winner in the past couple of seasons, is not in the field after testing positive.

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There will be more. Why? Because there is no such thing as a real bubble. The PGA Tour can suggest, and expect, and direct players and their teams to act and handle their business in a certain way, but that’s about it.

We’re going to see more players, caddies, staff, and even family members test positive for this because we can’t see this virus. It’s invisible, it can infect via carriers who don’t carry symptoms, and so forth.

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Coronavirus infections are going to continue to increase unless the Tour decides they want to actually go full quarantine life (no separate air arrangements, living arrangements in lockdown locations only from stop to stop, single site for all things food and health, etc). And even with all of this, there is no guarantee it won’t show up. Why? Volunteers, course staff, contracted services, camera crews, hosts, reporters, and more.

And for a sport which asked courses around the country to follow special protocols to prevent the spread of the disease, several of these are not being followed by the Tour.

Commissioner Jay Monahan has reinforced and tightened more of the PGA Tour’s requirements for participation and travel, and increased the amount of tests. Players will also be heavily requested to wear the WHOOP band system to monitor their health, as Nick Watney said this data showed him he might be in more trouble than just the run of the mill things when he fell ill.

I’m not saying we need to completely turtle up and pack it in as a sport regarding the status of the current and near future PGA Tour events. But I am saying this league and people of all walks need to take this thing a hell of a lot more seriously.

Florida just saw over 5,800 new cases the other day. Yes, almost 6,000 cases confirmed in one 24-hour period, and Texas as well as other states are also really seeing huge spikes. Hospitals and health systems are managing for now, but for now is the operative word. We’re seeing March & April NYC level numbers spreading across the country, and in the trying to be closed community of professional tour golf, we’re seeing this sickness get some early traction.

As two of my friends learned who battled coronavirus, this stuff is not a hoax or a “plandemic.” And as three others sadly found when a total of seven family, friends, and hospital coworkers passed away from this illness, COVID-19 is as deadly as advertised.

So where do we go from here? Sadly, unless the Tour wants to go lockdown and keep players from heading home or to family or other “needs,” we’ll just be seeing more coronavirus impacting players, caddies, and staff health and livelihoods.

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Let’s hope all make a full recovery, and we get more consistent care routines and a safe vaccine as soon as possible. I hope you all continue to socially distance, wear a mask, cover your cough or sneeze, and more so you stay healthy as well (because this DOES help).

That being said, the PGA Tour’s coronavirus-free bubble plan didn’t just burst. It exploded.

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