With Masters Postponed, Not Canceled, Golfers Hope for a Do-Over

Several non-American golfers, worried about the safety of their families abroad, were uneasy continuing to play golf in northern Florida and in Texas, where the tour was soon headed. At least one, C.T. Pan of Taiwan, pulled out of the Players Championship on Thursday before it was canceled, citing safety concerns. The tour was also under pressure to fall in line with virtually every other mainstream American sports organization, which had already suspended competition in the cascading fallout of coronavirus concerns.

Then, as the sun was setting Thursday evening, Rory McIlroy, the game’s top-ranked golfer, completed his round and promptly asked the tour to test every player for the virus, as well as other associated personnel, like caddies.

Monahan, however, said he was most swayed by news he received at 9 p.m., when two Florida theme parks, Disney World and the Universal Orlando Resort, announced they were closing.

“That was the final thing,” Monahan said Friday. “We can’t proceed, and it’s not right to proceed.”

Players applauded the move.

“It’s the right decision,” McIlroy said. “If in a few weeks time, even if this all dies down and everything is OK, it’s still the right decision.”

In the wake of the moves by Augusta National and the PGA Tour, the competitive pro golf world, which was just entering its prime season, will be on an indefinite hiatus.

Standing in the sun a few yards from the first tee of the T.P.C.-Sawgrass course on Friday, Thomas waved a hand at the lush green grass that stretched for hundreds of yards in every direction.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/sports/golf/masters-postponed.html