Adam Scott won’t be returning to the PGA Tour when it resumes in June because he is unsatisfied with the safety measures that have been put in place.
The world No 6 has revealed he will sit out the first six weeks of the Tour’s resumption in his native Australia, before embarking on a possible marathon nine-week stint in the US thereafter.
It would mean going into the year’s first major championship with just one tournament under his belt, but Scott isn’t prepared to take any risks, even though he admitted the PGA Tour’s safety precautions seem “fairly thorough”.
Measures that will be put in place as the tour returns from a three-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic include frequent coronavirus testing for players, caddies and support personnel; using chartered flights for events; restricting movement of players during events; and holding tournaments without spectators.
“They are being fairly thorough, but my initial reaction was I was surprised it wasn’t tighter than it is,” Scott told AAP.
“What concerns me is dialogue that (the Tour) is hopeful of returning one or two-hour test (results). You’d want that in place before competing.
“The other (concern) is it seems an asymptomatic person could operate within a tournament.
“If they’re not showing symptoms and I somehow picked it up inside the course and I’m disqualified I’m now self-isolating (in that city) for two weeks. I’d be annoyed if that happened.
“I thought you’d start quite tight and loosen those protocols to normal if appropriate.”
Scott said he is eyeing the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis, starting 30 July, as his return event.
That would mean playing only one warm-up event before the rescheduled PGA Championship in San Francisco in early August, which will be followed by the US Open in mid-September and the Masters in mid-November.
“I’m definitely going to sit out and see how the first few weeks of the PGA Tour pan out and if things are progressing well, playing Memphis the week before the PGA is a thought,” Scott said.
“I would have to think about staying in the United States through the US Open (starting 17 September at New York’s Winged Foot course).
“It’s going to turn into like a nine-week trip to do that, maybe more.”
Golf’s unexpected shutdown in March hurt Scott more than most players. Victory at the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles in February saw the former Masters champion break a four-year winless streak, and left him very excited about the year ahead.
“I was pretty primed for a run into Augusta there; I was feeling pretty good so that was disappointing from a golf standpoint,” Scott added.
“But I’m excited we’re at least getting a chance to play the Masters this year.”
– TEAMtalk media
