Memorial Tournament announces early commitments

0

Details surrounding this year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide continue to trickle in.

We know when and where — July 13-19 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. We also know it’ll be open to the public — at 20-percent capacity — with a handful of COVID-19 patron protocols set to be implemented to help promote the health and safety of everyone in attendance.

And now, thanks to an announcement made by the tournament Monday morning, we have a better idea of who will be participating in the event a little less than a month from now.

Defending Memorial winner Patrick Cantlay will be back. He’ll be joined by Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, the fourth- and fifth-ranked golfers in the world, respectively, and 2017 Masters champ Sergio Garcia’s entry has been accepted as well, officials announced.

The names are familiar, the setting’s familiar, but the event will certainly have a different feel from any of the previous 44 editions of the Memorial Tournament.

“Together with the PGA Tour, who we have worked jointly with throughout this process, we are looking forward to partnering with state, county and city leadership, along with the Memorial COVID -19 Task Force, to offer the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide as an example of how public gathering events can be developed and implemented with approved and accepted protocols in place,” said Tournament Executive Director Dan Sullivan.

Some of the highlights include temperature checks at all entrances and the requirement to wear non-surgical masks. Attendees can bring their own masks or will be issued one upon arrival.

Bleachers have also been eliminated to help promote social distancing and stationary hand sanitizer stations will be placed throughout the course. (at the entrances, restroom and concession locations).

The 2020 Memorial Tournament will be the first PGA Tour event to include on-site fans since March, when the Players Championship was forced to halt play due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It’ll also make the PGA Tour among the first professional sports leagues in the U.S. to allow spectator attendance.

“The news announced recently by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is a very positive step for the PGA Tour and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide as it relates to a phased approach in re-introducing a limited number of on-site fans and guests. We very much look forward to the return of spectators on a limited basis at the Memorial Tournament,” said Andy Pazder, PGA Tour Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer. “Beyond that week’s event, we will continue to work with host organizations, state and local government agencies and leading medical experts on parallel plans that include spectators, a limited number of spectators and without spectators.”

https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2020/06/web1_memorial-tournament-2017-featured.jpeg

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

No posts to display