[Golf Topic] The Players Championship Abruptly Canceled "Ultimately Due to COVID-19~"

The gallery at The Players Championship is watching Jay Monahan, PGA Commissioner, deliver an announcement related to COVID-19. Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ○…The PGA Tour's "fifth major," The Players Championship (total prize money $15 million), has been abruptly canceled.

The PGA Tour office officially announced on the 13th (Korean time), after completing the first round of the tournament held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA (par 72, 7,189 yards), that the event would be suspended due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In a press release, they explained, "We took every measure to provide a safe environment for the players, but due to the rapidly changing situation, we decided to suspend the tournament."

Originally, the PGA Tour had planned to hold the second round without galleries, but as the COVID-19 situation worsened, they sent text messages to the players and then decided to cancel. Along with this, the Valero Texas Open on April 2, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on the 25th, and the Valspar Championship on the 19th were all canceled. The season's first major, the Masters Tournament, starting on April 9, is also expected to be affected by COVID-19.

Siwoo Kim (25, CJ Logistics) packed up in vain as The Players Championship was canceled. After shooting 7-under par on the first day, he was tied for 2nd place and was aiming for his first tournament win in three years since 2017. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) led with 9-under par, Sungjae Im (22), the Honda Classic champion, was tied for 22nd at 3-under par, Kyung-hoon Lee (29) and Byung-hoon An (29, both CJ Logistics) were tied for 37th at 2-under par. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) was tied for 83rd at even par.

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