The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass has been cancelled after one round of play in order to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
In addition, the PGA Tour has postponed all its forthcoming tournaments until after the Texas Open, which was scheduled to start on April 2nd.
The Masters – which is run by officials at Augusta National – is due to take place the following week.
The PGA Tour stated: “As the situation continues to rapidly change, the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
On Thursday, Tour officials had stated that The Players would continue but be played without any fans in attendance for the final three rounds. However, they later announced the tournament’s total cancellation.
“We have pledged from the start to be responsible, thoughtful and transparent with our decision process,” the PGA Tour’s statement read. “We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event throughout the weekend, and we were endeavouring to give our fans a much-needed respite from the current climate.”
The next three events scheduled to take place on the Ladies PGA Tour – including the ANA Inspiration, the first Major of the year – were also postponed because of the outbreak.
The European Tour have already cancelled events in China, Kenya, Malaysia and India as a result of the ongoing global outbreak. The next event on the schedule is the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation at Valderrama which it set to start on April 30.
