PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The final three rounds of The Players won’t look anything like we’re used to seeing.
With PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announcing on Thursday that the next three days of action at TPC Sawgrass will take place without fans present, the Tour’s flagship event is about to enter a surreal and unprecedented setting. Here’s a look at some of the changes the Tour plans to enact beginning with Friday’s second round at the Stadium Course:
- Only player family, player support, essential personnel and media will be allowed on the course.
- With no fans present, there is no need for standard bearers carrying the current scores of each group. VIP and honorary starters that traditionally follow each group will also not be allowed, and there will be only a single starter on the tee at Nos. 1 and 10.
- Marshal presence will be “extremely limited,” with approximately one position manned per fairway and green along with “essential cross walks.”
- The scoring and ShotLink teams “will deliver the full product.” This means one volunteer walking with each group along with two volunteers in each fairway and on each green.
- All on-course food vendors will be closed. So too will all hospitality areas, including the Commissioner’s Hospitality.
- Media members will be required to remain outside the ropes on the course. All interviews will be conducted at a player’s discretion, and all one-on-one and group interviews will be conducted on the interview stage instead of in more informal “scrums.”