PGA TOUR explains why it canceled The PLAYERS Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — MARCH 13, 8. A.M. UPDATE: PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said the tough decision to cancel THE PLAYERS tournament was made after hearing concerns of players, especially international players.

After Thursday’s round, the PGA TOUR received a lot of questions from players and with the news of Disney World and Universal Studios announcing closures because of coronavirus concerns, a number of factors ultimately led to the decision to cancel.

“Ultimately there were some players that were concerned, but there were a number of factors... We felt that it was time to move on”
-@PGATOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan pic.twitter.com/twcJggIIOy
— Marcel Robinson (@MarcelASJax) March 13, 2020

Monahan on regrets (paraphrase): what has transpired has transpired in 24 hours. We were comfortable playing late Wednesday. I was proud of plan we had in place and then last night made this decision. Always wonder if you could have done it earlier, but comfortable in process.
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) March 13, 2020

Monahan: no plan to compensate players over next month. For @THEPLAYERSChamp - players will get 50% of purse (7.5 million) evenly distributed amongst 144 players. That’s PGA Tour stipulation. @ActionNewsJax @ActionSportsJax @ESPN690Jax
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) March 13, 2020

View the full news conference below on Facebook:

MARCH 12, 10 P.M. UPDATE: The PGA TOUR announced The PLAYERS Championship is canceled because of coronavirus concerns.

The PGA TOUR is set to answer questions about the cancellation at 8 a.m. Friday. Action News Jax will stream it live on FOX30, here and on the Action News Jax Facebook page.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan will answer additional questions on Friday at 8 a.m. from THE PLAYERS Championship interview room.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 13, 2020

MARCH 12, 6 P.M. UPDATE: The City of Jacksonville said the PGA Tour will not allow fans at the course for the final three rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship starting on Friday.

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said all PGA Tour events will be closed to fans starting March 13 through the Valero Texas Open on March 30.

Fans can get a refund for their tickets to the THE PLAYERS Championship here.

Parking passes will receive a refund from ParkMobile. Refund requests can be made by calling (866-330-7275).

Fans are still allowed at TPC Sawgrass through the rest of the day Thursday, March 12.

Monahan says that the fans currently at @TPCSawgrass will be permitted to stay through the end of the day.

Fans have the option to refund their tickets.
— Marcel Robinson (@MarcelASJax) March 12, 2020

Owners of food trucks were counting on long lines of hungry golf fans. Now, those fans will be long gone, starting Friday.

“It really hit us in the gut hard,” said Robert Hocking, Tikiz Shaved Ice.

Hocking said they are out thousands of dollars.

“It does really hit us hard in the pocketbook,” he said.

Andre Acevedo, general manager of St. Augustine Fish Camp said this was their first year here, and they were looking forward to a profitable weekend.

“It does stink. It does impact us right there,” he said.

But he realized the need to play it safe.

“We can’t control everything, we will just have to manage and adapt and overcome,” said Acevedo.

Watch the news conference below:

The @PGATOUR will close the next three days to fans here at @THEPLAYERSChamp and next week in Tampa at the @ValsparChamp and all Tour events through @valerotxopen @ActionSportsJax @ESPN690Jax @ActionNewsJax
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) March 12, 2020

Monahan on the idea of ending the tournament: We contemplated everything, but based on where we are right now this is a safe environment to move forward with our players with essential personnel on site.
— Marcel Robinson (@MarcelASJax) March 12, 2020

Monahan says obviously will be financial loss for everyone involved but we want to do what is right. @ActionNewsJax @ActionSportsJax @ESPN690Jax
— Brent Martineau (@BrentASJax) March 12, 2020

JUST IN: The @PGATOUR has announced that fans will not be permitted on the course for the final three rounds of the @THEPLAYERSChamp starting tomorrow, Friday March 13th. pic.twitter.com/BqPqgo6XrO
— City of Jacksonville (COJ) (@CityofJax) March 12, 2020

Original Story:

Thousands of fans are heading to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra where the championship rounds of THE PLAYERS kicks off Thursday, though events nationwide are canceling to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Shortly after Action News Jax reported a positive case of COVID-19 in St. Johns County, leaders stated they are considering alternate plans at The PLAYERS Championship as the coronavirus spreads such as offering refunds to fans and not signing autographs.

The PGA TOUR released the below statement regarding The PLAYERS Championship amid COVID-19 concerns:

"The PGA TOUR is aware of rapidly changing developments regarding COVID-19. With the information currently available, THE PLAYERS Championship will continue as scheduled, although we will absolutely continue to review recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and local health administrations. This is obviously a very fluid situation that requires constant review, communication and transparency, and we are dedicated to all three aspects. The PGA TOUR will provide an additional update by 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.In the meantime, players in the field have been notified to be prepared to play Round 1, as scheduled.Fans who no longer wish to attend THE PLAYERS Championship may request a refund or exchange; details on how to do so will be announced shortly. Please visit PGATOUR.COM/THEPLAYERS for more information.”

The PGA TOUR also stated they are no longer signing autographs for fans because of the coronavirus outbreak.

NO AUTOGRAPHS will be signed for the remainder of @THEPLAYERSChamp because of the #Coronavirus, according to PGA Tour leaders. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/izRZDKUWEm
— Beth Rousseau (@BethANJax) March 12, 2020