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Post by jumpcut on Jun 9, 2020 14:57:00 GMT
The latest casualty of the COVID-19 era is a big one, but with The Open already canceled for this year Evian likely won't be the last major to fall silent in 2020:www.lpga.com/news/2020/evian-canceledKevin I'm pretty sure the real reason for the cancellation is that the horndogs refused to do social distancing. There isn't enough sanitizer in France for Jin Young to erase this memory.
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Post by HappyFan on Jun 9, 2020 16:30:02 GMT
I can't see how any international events like the British or Evian could happen, anyways. Most of those countries require quarantine for newcomers; how does a golfer make that work for events in different countries back-to-back?
And far as LPGA traditions go, the horndogs-kissing-the-winner is not exactly as iconic as the leap into Poppy's Pond.
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Post by IceCat on Jun 24, 2020 2:42:48 GMT
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Post by IceCat on Jul 1, 2020 2:37:19 GMT
Given that non-essential travel across the US/Canada border is still largely banned and will remain so for some time to come the following announcement wasn't all that unexpected:
Kevin
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Post by philknj on Jul 1, 2020 18:49:13 GMT
The countdown on the ShopRite/Acer website is 88 days, so it's time to do a little online poking around. Did a test via Travelocity for a Wed. night thru Friday AM stay at my usual dump. It averaged out to $43/night including all taxes and fees, which is steeper than normal. I assume they have to make up for lost time during the cooties break. The tournament website says nothing about additional restrictions related to attendance or public parking ... still mentions free admission with your ShopRite card and I'll be carrying my mask and little hand sanitizer bottle for the shuttle buses and johns.
As for KPMG/LPGA the following week, it's a much more expensive proposition for tickets and lodging. I'm undecided on what days to attend ... I'll probably do a Thursday night stay so I can watch Rounds One and Two. Or, should I add in Wednesday's practice round? I have a duty to spend more of my gubmint booty! I'm familiar with the Motel 6 in King of Prussia, which looks the best option for price and location (across from a huge mall).
Also did a little searching at GolfNow ... I haven't played yet, except for hitting 8-irons in the park, which is getting old. Not every course is trying to soak you ... some good prices at places I haven't played before if I'm willing to travel more than usual. Online reservations seem to be the only way to play these days.
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Post by 18majors on Jul 6, 2020 16:03:39 GMT
This spells trouble for Marathon Classic, where fan attendance was part of the prerequisite to have the tournament
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Post by HappyFan on Jul 6, 2020 16:38:50 GMT
If they won't even have fans in Korea, where the Corona numbers are much lower, it doesn't surprise me that they made this move.
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Post by philknj on Jul 6, 2020 16:59:25 GMT
The Marathon LPGA website has a list of spectator protocols, including temperature readings at two different entry points. Hand sanitizer will be everywhere, no autographs permitted, disinfectant fogging all over the place, social distancing (you couldn't find more distance than a golf course), etc., ... there's no reason to ban spectators on Thursday thru Sunday. It appears that they are going forward with pro-ams on Monday thru Wednesday, but with no spectators (I don't know if that is the normal policy for pro-ams there). I couldn't find any protocols for them.
The ShopRite/Acer website still mentions its pro-ams, but have no special details listed. The LPGA would take huge haircut without them, but I can envision special conditions ... maybe smaller groups, more space between tee times, eliminating the indoor drinking/eating events in AC. A small haircut might be in order. They normally allow spectators every day of the week and have not mentioned anything to the contrary.
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Post by jumpcut on Jul 6, 2020 17:21:09 GMT
I'd say it's less than a 50/50 chance the Marathon will be played with fans. Back in April, Whan said this:
As it stands now the Marathon will be the first event of any major US sport to play in front of fans. Whan doesn't want the LPGA to be the guinea pig for all sports...for fear it could turn out more like a canary in a coal mine.
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Post by philknj on Jul 6, 2020 17:53:27 GMT
I just thought about the host family deal most LPGAers do for lodging in the U.S. How's that gonna work?
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Post by don on Jul 7, 2020 14:36:18 GMT
Women's British Open is on for 20th - 23rd w/o fans at Royal Troon.
The women really need to go to Prestwick sometime.
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Post by IceCat on Jul 8, 2020 7:37:26 GMT
Because this particular tangent hasn't been explored in a while, it is time to update everyone on how some of the other major sports are working around the pandemic.NHLOn 24 May the league and the Players Association agreed to an expanded 24 team postseason, with seedings based on the standings as of 12 March, when the regular season was initially paused. The plan's adoption effectively meant the end of the regular season as well as the start of the off season for Buffalo, New Jersey, Ottawa, Detroit, Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. The playoffs would be staged in two hub cities behind closed doors, and as of the current writing those hub cities would be Toronto (East) and Edmonton (West). US cities were taken out of consideration as hosts following the spike in new cases in many states, and given the continued cross-border restrictions it was felt that staging the entire tournament in one country would be preferable. Training camps for the 24 are set to open 10 July with the first games set for around the 1st of August.NBAOn 4 June the NBA Board of Governors approved a plan to resume the season for 22 teams at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando, FL, which has three arenas available for games, which will be conducted behind closed doors. The 22 teams (9 East and 13 West) were chosen because they had either already clinched a playoff spot under the new format or were within 6 games of the eighth seed in their conference, so the season is now over for Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland, Minnesota and Golden State. Beginning 31 July the 22 teams in the Orlando "bubble" would begin playing 8 seeding games to conclude the regular season and arrive at 16 teams to contest the playoffs. This plan was approved by the NBA Players Association on 5 June.MLSJust like the NBA, Major League Soccer will resume its season, barely 2 weeks old when play was suspended, at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. The plan, announced on 10 June, would see a bracket style competition beginning today (8 July) with 25 of the 26 teams split into 6 pools (FC Dallas withdrew from the tournament on 6 July after 10 players and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19). Games in the round-robin group stage will count towards the regular season, with the championship set for 11 August. The winner gets a place in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. The regular season would then resume under a revised schedule, concluding with the playoffs leading to the MLS Cup.WNBATop flight women's basketball will also be contested in a Florida "bubble' behind closed doors, the site being the IMG Academy in Bradenton. The 36 game regular season was to have commenced for the 12 teams on 3 April, taken an extended break for the Tokyo Olympics, and conclude in October. The pandemic delayed the start of the season and postponed the Olympics to 2021. The season, now shortened to 22 games, will start on 24 July and still conclude with the WNBA Finals in late October, running straight through the August dates the postponed Olympics vacated.NWSLThe National Women's Soccer League is in the midst of the 2020 Challenge Cup being contested in Sandy, UT. Eight of the nine teams in the league (Orlando withdrew after 6 players and 4 staff tested positive) will each play 4 matches to determine the seeding for the knockout round, which would conclude with the championship on 26 July. Participation was optional and many players, including USWNT members Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pugh, Tobin Heath and Christen Press either opted out or were unavailable due to injury. The tournament replaces the 2020 regular season and playoffs, which have been officially canceled.MLBThis one took longer to settle as the owners and the MLBPA haggled over the details, most of which involved money. They eventually settled on a 60 game regular season, to be contested within a team's own division and its geographic equivalent in the other league to reduce travel time. In the case of the Red Sox, to give an example, that means playing only teams in the AL East and the NL East. With the current border restrictions the Toronto Blue Jays do not yet know where they'll be playing their home games (which like everybody else would be without fans in the stands anyway) with Buffalo, home of their AAA farm team whose season along with the rest of minor league baseball has been canceled, as a possibility if the governments in Canada and Ontario do not sign off on allowing games at Rogers Centre (aka SkyDome for us purists). Training camps are under way at each team's home park with the season due to start 24 July.CFLI don't normally touch on gridiron football, my least favorite sport, in this forum, and it appears as if the NFL will make every effort to start their season as scheduled, even if it may initially be behind closed doors. The same cannot be said of the Canadian Football League, which ordinarily would have gotten underway by now. The nine team circuit had to receive about $30 million in immediate aid from the federal government in Ottawa and may get an additional $130 million if the season is canceled outright. As of this writing no firm date has been set for the start of the season, which would be no earlier than September. The Grey Cup, if it's contested this year, would not be in Regina unless the Saskatchewan Rough Riders happen to make it to the championship game and were the team with the better record of the two combatants; otherwise that team would serve as host.AFLThe Australian Football League got back underway on 11 June after a break of nearly three months. Because of travel restrictions between the Australian states, which would be too complicated to detail in full here and are subject to change depending on the progress (or lack thereof) in flattening the coronavirus curve, some teams have had to move to hubs outside of their home states, relocating to either New South Wales (NSW) or Queensland. Initially it was the teams based in South Australia (Adelaide and Port Adelaide) and Western Australia (West Coast and Fremantle), but now with the recent spike in cases in greater Melbourne and the closure of the state border between Victoria and NSW all 10 Victoria based teams, all but one of which are based in Melbourne, have also had to relocate to either Queensland or NSW. The plan for now would see Adelaide, West Coast and Fremantle leave the temporary hub on Queensland's Gold Coast and return home after this upcoming weekend's Round 6 matches, but the situation is fluid and things can change almost at a moments notice. The plan is to continue with a 17 game regular season schedule (down from 22, with each team playing every other team once) before the playoffs, culminating in the Grand Final in late October.International tennisNo tournaments on either the ATP or WTA have been contested since mid March and none are slated to be held until early August. Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since WWII and the French Open was postponed until 28 September, although with less daylight available combined with the lack of both artificial lighting and roofs at Roland Garros getting a full draw in on schedule will be a challenge. The US Open is slated to be held as scheduled in late August/early September in New York behind closed doors. Both the Fed Cup and the Davis Cup have been canceled for 2020. Additionally several top male players at a recent exhibition series organized by world #1 Novak Djokovic, including Novak himself, subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.Kevin
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Post by IceCat on Jul 8, 2020 15:39:12 GMT
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Post by philknj on Jul 8, 2020 21:15:58 GMT
Ol' Randall says the 14-day quarantine period will be waived by the British govt. for certain sporting event athletes and officials:
The relevant section:
Earlier this week, the United Kingdom exempted select foreign athletes from 14-day quarantine requirements. Sources told GolfChannel.com that the Scottish government has assured AIG and ASI tournament officials that it will ratify that exemption to clear the way for the competitions.
According to the R&A, the Women’s British Open will enforce strict health and safety protocols, including the creation of a “bio secure zone.” Only personnel essential to the championship’s onsite operations, namely players, caddies, officials, and staging staff, will be inside the zone with their movements for the week limited to the golf course and designated secure hotel. All personnel will be required to return a negative COVID-19 test from an authorized testing center and will be subject to further daily temperature checks and rigorous protocols designed to maintain the integrity of the zone and the health of those within it.
GAME ON! I was thinking that past champ MHL might want to skip the Scottish Open, but it wouldn't be necessary with the quarantine lifted. The only question is returning to the U.S. immediately after the WBO ... if you have to bottle yourself for 14 days, then they've got a problem with the P&G in Arkansas for Aug. 28-30.
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Post by jumpcut on Jul 8, 2020 22:54:34 GMT
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