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Sports

2020 Wyndham Championship To Be Held Without Fans

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 2020 Wyndham Championship will be played without spectators, the tournament and Wyndham Rewards, in collaboration with the PGA TOUR, announced today. The 81st annual Wyndham Championship is set for Aug. 13-16, 2020 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

The PGA TOUR returned to golf in mid-June by scheduling five fan-free events, the last of which was to have been last week’s Workday Charity Open in Columbus, Ohio. Corporate partners and limited spectators were set to return for the first time at this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, but last Monday, the TOUR and the Memorial Tournament announced it would be played without spectators.

With an extensive health and safety plan in place, the Wyndham Championship was prepared to potentially host its corporate partners and a limited number of spectators, but the constantly evolving dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary for the tournament to be played without fans.

“As we have said from the start, our No. 1 priority remains the health and safety of everyone in the communities where we are invited guests each week,” said PGA TOUR Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazder. “We appreciate the cooperation of the Wyndham Championship, Wyndham Rewards, and – of course – the fans of central North Carolina for understanding why collectively we had to make this decision. We remain very excited to present the Wyndham Championship to a global audience as it determines the outcome of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 and sets the field for the FedExCup Playoffs.”

“I’m sorry we have to go this route, but I think this plan is the right call,” tournament director Mark Brazil said. “We are very excited to be able to have the tournament and showcase the Wyndham Championship and the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina to the rest of the world, but these are truly unprecedented times. This decision is appropriate for the health and safety of the players, caddies, volunteers and fans. I am incredibly proud of our tournament staff and volunteers and appreciate the way Wyndham Rewards, the PGA TOUR and state of North Carolina worked with us, but with constantly evolving COVID-19 numbers, playing without spectators is the responsible thing to do.”

“We are certainly disappointed we won’t be able to welcome golf fans to the Wyndham Championship this year, but health and safety must come first,” Wyndham Destinations and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Chairman Steve Holmes said. “We completely understand and agree with the decision to play this year’s tournament without spectators. Mark and his team have done a phenomenal job throughout this year’s planning process for our tournament. We are very thankful to them for all of their hard work and remarkable leadership.

“We wish the players the best of luck in the 2020 Wyndham Championship and the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, and we look forward to welcoming fans back to the Wyndham Championship next year as well as to all of our hotels and vacation club resorts around the world. Whenever and wherever they decide to travel, Wyndham will be there, ready to welcome them safely.”

While no spectators will be on site, the tournament, in conjunction with the PGA TOUR, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and the Guilford County Division of Public Health, will be taking extensive COVID-19-related precautions such as everyone wearing masks, social distancing, extensive hand washing and extensive placement of hand-sanitizing stations where handwashing is not available to protect its volunteers, PGA TOUR players and caddies as well as the essential personal required to present a PGA TOUR event.

A comprehensive screening and testing plan will be implemented including a mandatory health questionnaire and temperature readings for everyone on site each day as well as COVID-19 testing for players, caddies and personnel working in specific areas. In addition, the tournament will implement enhanced cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting practices in all areas of tournament operations. The PGA TOUR and the Wyndham Championship will only operate the event if it is deemed safe and responsible to do so by local and state agencies.

Wyndham Championship results will decide the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, the $10 Million bonus program which rewards the top-10 finishers in the final regular season FedExCup point standings. As has been the case since 2007, the Wyndham Championship will set the field for the FedExCup Playoffs beginning the week following the Wyndham Championship.

 

Featured image of 2019 champion JT Poston by Lawrence Davis III.