GolfNewsRI

The state of Texas is set to open for pro sports just days before the PGA Tour is set to return. 

In a press conference on Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that professional sports would be allowed to return to the state starting on May 31. 

The PGA Tour is set to return to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on June 11, but the first practice round of the week would take place on June 8. 

After Colonial, the Tour won’t return to Texas until November, however, the Korn Ferry Tour is scheduled to play a tournament in San Antonio in July. 

PGA Tour Return 

As GolfNewsRI reported, the PGA Tour released a comprehensive Health and Safety Plan for its return to action in June. 

The heart of the PGA’s plan is based on testing, lots of testing. 

According to Golf Digest, testing will consist of many layers an storages, starting with pre-travel lab screening before competitors and caddies leave home for a tournament. 

When players and caddies arrive in the city of the tournament, they will then go through four methods of screening, including a questionnaire; temperature reading; an RT PCR nasal swab or saliva test; and an igM/IgG serum antibody test. 

Players will then have to fill out a daily questionnaire and undergo a temperature screening. 

According to Golf Digest, players can practice and plan on-site while waiting for test results, but will have no access to course facilities. 

If a player tests positive during the week, they will be immediately isolated and must quarantine for 14 days. 

That player will also not be allowed to travel and will be ineligible to compete. 

If a player tests positive during a tournament, they will be forced to withdraw and receive a last place check, including if a player had made the cut. 

During rounds, players will be able to remove and replace clubs, take the golf ball out of the hole, and caddies will be allowed to rake bunkers and tend flagsticks. 

The PGA Tour will also provide a chartered flight from each tournament site to the next.