The Players: Reaction from Sawgrass ahead of spectator ban
Friday 13 March 2020 10:37, UK
The world's best golfers are preparing for an uncertain final three days of The Players Championship, with the remainder of the tournament closed to spectators.
The PGA Tour imposed a spectator ban at all events through to the end of the Valero Texas Open next month as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc with worldwide sport.
There was a significant reduction in the number of fans who attended the opening round at TPC Sawgrass, and post-round interviews were dominated by questions surrounding the Tour's decision to allow the tournament to continue as scheduled.
Here's what the players are saying ...
Graeme McDowell (Four-under 68 in round one)
"It was just a difficult morning really, from a focus point of view, and difficult to get your head in the moment in the game with all the question marks surrounding everything that's going on. It's nice to have a plan in place now I suppose and going forward at least we all know where we stand for the next 24 hours or so anyway.
"It's obviously such a dynamic situation where someone contracts in the locker room and things change right away. So it's a sad situation, but it's important that sport and certainly professional sport do their best job to realise that what we're doing is insignificant compared to what's happening out there.
"Obviously anything we can do to help contain this thing is really important that we do so. There's been a lot of time and a lot of thought gone into this and thankfully there's some pretty smart people out there hopefully making some good decisions."
Jordan Spieth (75)
"In the grand scheme of things, golf is insignificant whether there's a virus going around or really in general. At this point I think, as players, we just trust the guys who are making the calls and doing the research.
"The Masters would be very unusual without hearing the roars echoing through the valley. You can feed off a crowd anywhere, and it can also add a bit of pressure, as well, in certain situations. This isn't ideal for anyone, but I think if you had polled the players, we would rather have the Masters go on without spectators than not go on at all."
Phil Mickelson (75)
"I'm sorry for all the fans that come out and support us like the way they have. This has been a crazy scenario. Although I'm not necessarily worried for my own health, I don't want to get it and infect anybody else. I don't want to infect anybody that wouldn't be able to fight it off.
"I've never played a Tour event like we were going to play tomorrow with no fans. It will be a very weird experience, and I feel bad for the people here that have supported this tournament for so many decades to not be able to come on out. But this is a pretty serious thing that we need to do all we can to make sure that people don't lose lives over it."
Justin Thomas (71)
"At the end of the day, it's about a very, very serious sickness and making sure that everybody's okay. And, I mean, selfishly, I'm glad that we're able to still play, this is a little different situation than other sports where we're outdoors and we don't have the physical contact and we can take it as cautious as we can."
The Players Championship Live
Hideki Matsuyama (63 - first-round leader)
"It will be strange tomorrow. I think all of us will have to go back to our college days to play without a gallery. But with that said, I know there's a lot of people watching television and a lot of fans rooting for us and so I'll do my best."
Tyrrell Hatton (69)
"It's not a decision that's been taken lightly. It is unfortunate that that's where we're at right now. I guess we're all just hoping that this can kind of clear up as quickly as possible and we can get back to normality. But yeah, it's a shame where we're at."
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
