In response to the cancellation of the John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour is creating another tournament to take place at Muirfield Village during the same time frame, July 9-12.
The event will be held directly prior to the Memorial tournament in Columbus, Ohio, and will feature a full, 156-man field. The tournament will be sponsored by Workday and will not allow spectators in attendance, though the event will be managed and operated by the same staff of the Memorial tournament and HNS Sports Group.
The following week, spectators are scheduled to be allowed, barring any changes from tournament organizers. As of early May, the Memorial was moving forward without grandstands as one of many precautions of social distancing.
The PGA Tour is set to begin again at the Charles Schwab Challenge next week, with four non-spectator events to follow. It is among the first sports to restart somewhat normal functions after the nationwide spread of the coronavirus. From there, the Tour will take its “bubble” to South Carolina, Connecticut and Detroit before reaching Columbus.
The Tour has made clear stringent policies to avoid spreading the coronavirus via its events. While they are not required to test prior to traveling to Fort Worth, players will be tested upon arrival and will be monitored daily in multiple fashions (temperature checks, personal checklists, etc.).
When it became clear that hosting the John Deere Classic with spectators was not feasible in the state of Illinois, the event was canceled by tournament organizers. Its replacement is another opportunity for Tour players to play, win prize money and continue a normally-scheduled season.
The Memorial Tournament, which will follow this new event, will see a smaller field size of 120, which is the annual norm for the invitational.
