“The show must go on”, at least that’s what they’re saying. Both the Waste Management Phoenix Open, and the Cologuard Classic say they are going ahead with the February tournaments as scheduled. The major golf tours had to take a month off during the height of the COVID 19 scare, and since then have been mostly playing in front of crowds of people made up of adjacent homeowners and friends and family of the golfers.
The Cologuard Classic Tournament Chairman Dennis Caldwell said on a recent “Golf Arizona Show” that the tournament will go on as scheduled February 21 through the 28th, but will be pared back. Pro-Ams will go as expected on Wednesday and Thursday…with an added event for Tuesday. Anyone wishing to play Tucson National in “tournament” condition, can attend a special “Am-Am”. No Champion’s Tour players, but you will get first crack at the course, before the pro’s get to play it. And when it comes to fans, Caldwell is hoping that some can come through the gates, but scaled back significantly due to the pandemic. In addition, there is expected to be an open-air hospitality area open to those lucky enough to get in. Caldwell said they had to cancel the nightly entertainment, which was so successful in past years. The Champion’s Tour pro’s will play round 1 on February 26th.
And when it comes to “the greatest show on turf”, don’t expect it to match previous years in attendance and spectacle. Due to COVID, the Waste Management Phoenix Open will also try to provide a scaled back version of their annual extravaganza, which in past years had over a million golf fans spread out over the TPC Scottsdale course over the four day event. According to Tournament Chairman Scott Jenkins, instead of constructing the usual 4 level arena-like structure for fans at the 16th hole, they’ll likely just have tables set up on the grass surrounding the hole. Jenkins, while appearing on “The Golf Arizona Show”, also added that they are still waiting to get the final word from state health officials on how many people will be allowed to attend the events each day. Pro-Ams will start play on Monday, February 1st, with the touring pro’s to tee it up on Thursday February 4th.
