Scott joins growing list saying no to PGA Tour restart
US-based players are understandably eager to get back to work, however, for those waiting out the pandemic overseas, the process is a little trickier.
In the past few weeks, as the countdown to the PGA Tour ticks closer to June 11, European Tour players including the likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood, have voiced their concerns about returning stateside.
Adam Scott (Credit: Titleist/Getty Images)
While a majority of pros are safely inside the US borders, the PGA Tour indicated there are around 25 players currently outside the US who would be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period before being able to resume Tour play.
And some players are understandably reluctant to make the journey, especially those with young families.
Fleetwood and his manager wife, Clare, have a 2-year old son so being away for months on end in the US really isn’t an option for the World No. 10.
“I’m not going to travel to America and stay away for four months,” Fleetwood said in a recent interview on Golf Channel. “That is simply not a consideration.”
Adam Scott, who also has a young family, said in an interview this week with the AAP’s Evin Priest, that he will skip the opening seven tournaments of the Tour’s new schedule and only plans to return for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in late July – a title he won in 2011.
“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,” said the World No. 6, who is currently holed up at his home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
“I would have to think about staying in the United States through the US Open [in September]…it’s going to turn into like a nine-week trip to do that, maybe more.”
England’s Lee Westwood has also voiced his doubts about the whole situation.
“Right now I won’t be playing them, not with having to leave here two weeks before, quarantine, then play the two tournaments, then come back here and quarantine again…it’s six weeks for two tournaments, and to me that’s just not worth it,” said the former World No.1.
Fellow countryman Eddie Pepperell also added that he felt it may be too early and he would taking a wait and see approach for now.
“Is it worth it? My personal opinion is I would rather wait until we can get back closer to some kind of normality and then come back than to force it to happen, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s wrong.”
Thankfully the PGA Tour has ruled that all players will be exempt for 2021 so the normally hectic race towards the FedEx Cup doesn’t matter as much this season with everyone essentially being handed a free pass for next year.
