How Golf & # 039; s European Tour saved his season

It was a chaotic path to golf's last stop on the European Tour.

At the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, sponsored by As a logistics company, a player will be crowned Europe & # 39; s No. 1 golfer on Sunday. At the end of the season, tour officials and players will artfully go through a constellation of constant shifts, changes, postponements and cancellations.

What started last November as a packed schedule of 46 tournaments in 31 countries came to a halt in March due to the pandemic. Professional golf was discontinued and it was unclear whether the season would resume or even be worth salvaging.

"It was so many months without playing," said Adrián Otaegui of Spain, who is ranked 28th in the Race to Dubai, which determines the best player. “We didn't know when we would be back. It was hard to practice not knowing when we would resume.”

In June, the tour officials regrouped in an attempt to restart the season.

Keith Pelley, the tour's chief executive, warned players that tournaments were "radically different". would appear, suggesting that there would be a concise schedule, with multiple tournaments in the same venue.

In addition, sponsorship and prize money would be tight, he said. With the European Tour already struggling to lure in players lured by the PGA Tour's bigger prizes, the news took an extra punch: players would also have to give up some of their benefits.

"A lot of the things you've gotten used to, like top-tier players' lounges or free car services, will most likely take on a different look, if they are there at all," Pelley said in a memo.

He said the pandemic had become the biggest challenge of his life.

"The job changed from one day to the next," he said during a conference call in June. "Every day you got knocked down, knocked down and knocked down, another tournament canceled, more income lost."

It came down to prioritizing safety and making the difficult decision to play without spectators, he said.

"There is no doubt that the tour would close tournaments to spectators," he said. "We would like to have 30,000 fans, but I think it will be very difficult."

The tour resumed in July with the Austrian Open at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg near Vienna. By the end of the year, the tour managed to schedule 38 events in 18 countries.

Guided by the tour's medical advisory board, which included virologists, public health experts, immunologists, and senior health leaders from FIFA, World Rugby and the ATP, the tour's new health strategy was introduced.

Developed by Dr. Andrew Murray, the European Tour's Chief Medical Officer, the strategy included rapid Covid-19 on-site testing, daily symptoms. controls, social distances and disinfection stations without touch.

Each tournament required players, caddies and staff to go through a process that would be "some of the strictest screening and testing criteria on the planet." Murray said,

"The whole world has changed," he said. "What we know is that we can set up golf safely, but there are a number of factors to consider."

Tour organizers also created a bio-bubble system for which players, caddies and the media pointed only to the golf course and the hotel.

They are subjected to screenings, including daily questionnaires, temperature measurements, and nasal swab or saliva tests. Everyone is also tested when they leave the plane.

There was initially grumbling about lack of fans during tournaments or after-hours socializing, but players adapted.

"When you come here, you have to do a test and you have to do a temperature check," said Joost Luiten from the Netherlands, who is in 72nd place in points. "It's new and it's different, but it's just part of the new rules on tour, and you just have to accept it.

"We've all seen the different sporting events around the world that have started, so I think you learn from each other, and I think golf is a sport where it's pretty easy to measure the distance between each other. There are no spectators, so it's as quiet as you can get it, and I think that's the way to do it right now. ”

Connor Syme from Scotland, who is 67th in points, he said the new restrictions. "It just feels better when you're sure everyone is okay," he said. "I feel safe. All the precautions that the European Tour takes make it possible to play. It feels good.

Another big change was travel. Many players chose to fly and drove to the tournaments instead.

Luiten drove with Maarten Bosch, his caddy, from the Netherlands to Austria. "It's a little bit further than usual," Luiten wrote on his blog.

"Usually I drive when it's to Paris, and I did that to Cologne in Germany, because that's only a two hour drive from Rotterdam." Luiten said. "This is one where you would normally flying, but since it was a better idea to drive and we still had some extra time, we figured why not. We just took it easy, so we did five hours on Sunday, stopped in Munich, and did another four or so on Monday. five hours. ”

Thomas Bjorn from Denmark, at 231 in the points race, said on Twitter what players should drive to if possible. Richard Mansell from England, ranked at 185, took that to heart. thinking: I've never been on a road trip like this, "he said in a video released by the tour.

His fiancé's father bought him and Mansell a Ford Transit van drove his caddy, Connor Winstanley

They slept in the van and made the journey from Staffordshire, England, to Austria in two days. "We woke up fresh as a daisy and did the last stretch," Mansell said.

"Thought it was going to be cruel, but the roads were beautiful. It was quite a nice ride to be honest. I really enjoyed it, but Connor probably got a little sick from my singing.

The tour remained Covid-free until the summer swing in the UK, where Alex Levy from France tested positive in August and Jbe & # 39; Kruger from South Africa in October.

David Howell, Chairman of the European Tournament Committee, admitted that this year was more crisis management than tournament planning.

“I look back with amazement at what we were able to do with what we had and very little collateral damage in terms of positive tests, "he said." We are fortunate to be playing a sport that can be played in a socially detached way, but the logistics of getting an international sports organization back on its feet was just great . "

[1 9459002] By the time the European Tour arrived in South Africa for the Joburg Open in November, Covid-19 business worldwide had taken off again, and event organizers and city officials increased precautions for players, caddies, tournament personnel and media.

In addition to undergoing Covid-19 screening and daily testing, players stayed in hotels within five miles of golf clubs and were only allowed to travel between the hotel and the golf course.

But despite strict restrictions and the eerie absence of fans, players were happy to play again.

"We were one of the first sports to come back into competition," said Luiten at the Joburg Open. "It was great to come back, but it's a bit boring now. We miss the fun times. Also, there is currently no atmosphere on the golf course without fans."

Oliver Wilson from England, ranked 212 , called it better than the alternative.

"It's a shame because we play better with fans," he said. "But we're lucky to be able to play – it was pure excitement for players to get out of the house and compete again. It's hard not to be able to socialize in the bubble. It's tricky, but we're right. We are lucky. "