Will NY, NJ, CT COVID Travel Restrictions Kill U.S. Open Golf?

This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that three northeastern states, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, will not allow visitors from a number of other states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington, unless those visitors self-quarantine in the three-state area for two weeks due to COVID.

Despite the recent Cuomo pronouncement, Connecticut has allowed The Travelers to be played this week without the players staying in quarantine for two weeks in advance, probably because the tournament week began simultaneous with the pronouncement.

Granted, Travelers is not a full-fledged tournament with fans. However, even without galleries, it’s not just players who go to a tournament. It’s officials. It’s volunteers. It’s support staff. There are people stationed on each golf hole who look for errant golf balls. There are camera people from the networks, a small contingent of announcers, for now, and a variety of people in what you could call assorted jobs too numerous to mention scattered all over the property.

The U.S. Open, however, is scheduled to be a “normal” event, which typically means thousands and thousands of people coming and going every day. It is slated to be played at Winged Foot GC, in Westchester County, New York, beginning the week of September 14th.

At a U.S. Open, there are hundreds of hospitality tents

There are people who put those up and take them down well in advance and take them down once the event is over. Some planning starts several years ahead of time. In other words, it’s not the kind of event that can be held spur of the moment.

Compounding the logistics of a regular U.S. Open, many of the states under Cuomo’s quarantine announcement are home to PGA Tour players and caddies. Many others are home to USGA staffers and volunteers. Many may be home to suppliers for the tournament or staff to help at the tournament, never mind thousands of fans with tickets.

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Then there’s the hazard of it all. Golfers who qualify for the U.S. Open will have to decide if they want to go to Winged Foot GC which is in Westchester County, New York, one of the hottest of all hot spots during the height of the COVID19 outbreak. Most will probably say yes. It’s the U.S. Open. If I am qualified and if it’s being played, I will go.

If the players accept the risk of the environment, then, they have to ask themselves, do I want to risk spending two-weeks there before playing the U.S. Open? With the Tour Championship ending on Sunday, September 7th, and the U.S. Open starting on September 17th, they can’t.

Who is going to skip the Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup winner is crowned and the biggest prize all year is awarded? Nobody who qualifies, and that includes the top 30 players. Those who aren’t in the Tour Championship but otherwise qualify for the U.S. Open are also faced with a dilemma. Do they WANT to spend two weeks in New York state?

So, has Cuomo painted himself into a corner that leaves the USGA and the PGA Tour blocked from entering New York?

It certainly poses a potential dilemma for PGA Tour members. Will Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson want to or be able to spend two weeks in New York state before the U.S. Open? Doubtful. How about the president of the USGA, Stu Francis, of Hillsborough, California?

If the USGA and the State of New York can’t come to some kind of understanding for the U.S. Open, will the USGA move the tournament? Can they move it in such a short time? Where would they go? One thing is for sure, hosting a major sporting event like a U.S. Open is not something one can do on a week’s or even a month’s notice.

There’s one course that is always mentioned at times like this. Oakmont GC, outside Pittsburgh. They always brag that they have U.S. Open conditions all year long. If you talk to people who play it, they will tell you yes, the golf course would be ready. But there would be nearly insurmountable logistic nightmares involved. However, Oakmont would be a possibility as an alternative location. And they’re not in Westchester – home of COVID – County.

Maybe New York will come to its senses and figure something out. Or maybe the U.S. Open isn’t such a lock for this year after all.

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