Ponte Vedre, FL …

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy along with fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell have led the overwhelming reaction to the PGA Tour’s announcement at 9.50pm (Local US east coat time) that the remaining three rounds of the Players Championship along with the next four events up to and including the Valero Texas Open have been cancelled due to fears over the Cornonavirus.

PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan addressed the media at noon local time on Thursday that the Tour would be adopting a ‘No Spectator’ policy for the remainder of the Players Championship and also next week’s Valspar Championship, the WGC – Dell Match-Play Championship, the Corales Puntacana Championship and the Valero Texas Open.

Now that decision has been reversed and with the Tour clearly having been placed under enormous pressure not only from his players but also the business world, and those businesses who back the PGA Tour.

Many are now saying the decision should have been made before the commencement of this week’s PGA Tour showcase event.

The PGA Tour could not be seen to even be hosting ‘No Spectator’ tournaments when the rest of the sporting world is cancelling their own events.

This was clearly a reality check for the PGA Tour and Monahan’s running of the world’s largest and richest tour and Monahan has taken the right decision in annoucing the cancellation of events.

This cancellation announcement now places enormous pressure on officials at Augusta National to cancel the Masters, and if the Masters is cancelled then it will be the first Major Championship since World War 11.

Hereunder is selection of player reactions to the cancellation decison.

RORY MCILROY –

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better. You look at the trends and you look at everything that’s happening across the rest of the world, it’s in its infancy here in the United States, and yeah, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, so I mean, I think it’s a hard one because you look at volunteers out here and a lot of  volunteers are in their 60s and 70’s and retired and you don’t want someone that’s got the virus that passes it on to them and then they’re susceptible, and for me,
like I, my mother’s got respiratory issues and I certainly don’t want to get something and pass it on to her and all of a sudden there’s some sort of complication.

“So it’s scary time, and I think that the PGA Tour have made a step in the right direction and I think we just have to play it by ear and take it day by day, and if someone said to me yesterday, today’s overreaction could look like tomorrow’s underreaction. So just got to take it day by day and see where this thing goes.”

GRAEME MCDOWELL – 

“It is not with any surprise there has been a huge amount of pressure at a high level from all directions to respond to this virus alarm has been totally paramount. Trying to compare our sports to others from an arena point of view is not something that would step well with the world.

“I’m disappointed but this thing needs to be contained and with professional needing to be seen to be doing its part and realise we are insignificant in comparison to this global pandemic.

“So, what we’re doing here is insignificant in comparison to what’s happening in the world and it’s unprecedented, we just don’t really know how to react and didn’t really know what to expect. At one point I was nearly expecting the horns to go off out there and for us all to be taken off the golf course because, you know, obviously, we were kind of seeing
the news out there, hearing the news, everything that’s happening in basketball, kids walking off the court and it’s just such a weird, weird unknown quantity”.

BRYSON DECHAMBEUA – 

“I understand the decision and it is out of respect for the human race we need to come together and figure out what is always best not only for the Tour but eveyone involved with the tour and our families so be safe and take care.

RICKIE FOWLER – 

“It is pretty crazy and that’s for sure and while every other sportS across the country and we respect their decisions this is something we need to be taking it seriouslym and this is not something you want to test and see how bad things can become as it a time to be pro-active.”

XANDER SCHAUFfELE –

“With every other major sport being suspended I don’t think it is very surprising that the PGA Tour has cancelled the event. I think we should have finished the event as we had started it.  Obviously, I now understand the Tour now showing caution and cancelling events.