The PGA Tour has announced that fans will not be allowed to attend The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week.
With sporting bodies across the world postponing events or placing them behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, the PGA Tour will continue with "essential personnel only" starting from Friday's second round at The Players Championship, through until the Valero Texas Open, which finishes on April 5.
The announcement was made by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who had been in discussions with President Donald Trump earlier in the day.
"PGA TOUR events – across all Tours – will currently proceed as scheduled, but will do so without fans," Monahan said in a statement on Thursday. "This policy starts at The Players Championship tomorrow [Friday] and continues through the Valero Texas Open.
“It’s important to note, that could change, but for the time being, this decision allows the PGA TOUR, our fans and constituents to plan, prepare and respond as events develop.
"Further, the recently announced travel advisories and potential logistical issues associated with players and staff travelling internationally limit our ability to successfully stage the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
“Therefore, we are going to postpone that event and will provide details in the coming weeks on a reschedule as this situation develops.
"We will continue the players with essential personnel only, and we will be in direct conversations with those groups [vendors, broadcasters, media, player support groups, essential volunteers] to provide instructions.
"This is a difficult situation, one with consequences that impact our players, fans and the communities in which we play.
“As I said earlier this week, we’ve had a team in place that has been carefully monitoring and assessing the situation and its implications for several weeks.
“We’ve weighed all the options, and I appreciate the input and collaboration across the tour, our industry, our partners and our members that got us to this point.
“We’ll continue with that collaboration, and I want to thank our fans for supporting the PGA TOUR."
