While global sporting events around the world were being cancelled or postponed, including European Tour tournaments, the PGA Tour opted to bat on with the Players Championship.
The first round was played, then midway through that commissioner Jay Monahan revealed that rounds two, three and four would be behind closed doors, as would the upcoming Valspar Championship, WGC-Match Play, and Texas Open, then at 10pm local time – around 2am Friday in the UK – it was off.
“It is with regret that we are announcing the cancellation of the Players Championship,” a short Tour statement read. “We have also decided to cancel all PGA Tour events – across all of our tours – in the coming weeks, through the Valero Texas Open.
“We have pledged from the start to be responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process. We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavouring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate.
“But at this point–and as the situation continues to rapidly change–the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
Monahan said that PGA Tour rules dictate that if one round of an event is complete, then half of the purse is paid out and split evenly among the competitors.
So if you divide the $15 million purse in half then by the 144 players means each will get $52,083.
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Alex Perry
