If this were a typical summer, the Tucson Conquistadores would be easing into planning for next year’s Cologuard Classic, which is scheduled for Feb 21-28, 2021.
It’s a slow time with the monsoon coming and temperatures and dew points rising.
Yet, 2020 has turned out to be anything but typical with the coronavirus pandemic.
“The town does go to sleep (in summer),” Judy McDermott, Executive Director of the Tucson Conquistadores said. “(We’re) trying to have some compassion for what’s going on, and when is the right time to talk about selling a golf tournament. It really is fascinating, but with our membership, because a lot of them are small business owners, and it’s tough. But, I feel like we’re powering through it and we’re on the horizon to hopefully have the full-fledged event, which I’m sure we will.”
Golf is one sport that uses social distancing pretty well and so it was fitting that The PGA Tour was one of the first sports to get back at it with a revised schedule — and numerous safety guidelines — a few weeks ago.
Fans are expected to return — in a limited capacity — for the Memorial Tournament in Ohio on July 16-19. Whether fans will be allowed at other tournaments going forward depends on crowd-gathering guidelines set by state and local governments.
“We don’t wave a magic PGA Tour wand and start inviting people out. It would be great if we could,” Stewart Moore, Senior Director of Communications, PGA Tour Champions said. “Safety is our No. 1 priority for our golfers, caddies, volunteers and fans.
“There is a lot on our shoulders. It takes bravado, time and resources to be the first one to jump into the deep end. The burden is on us to lead other sports back.”
If all goes as planned, The PGA Tour Champions will tee up again on July 31 in Michigan. The Tour is working with Michigan officials to determine if any fans will be on the course.
The second tournament — the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship — at Firestone CC in Ohio will have some fans. Ohio was one of the first states to close down and then open back up.
“They’re going to play at Warwick Hills at the end of July, but for all we know it could be altered from what they’re going into or leading into or it could be canceled. We just don’t know,” Dennis Caldwell, Tournament Chairman said.
“Scenarios that the tour has given us that are big picture, but no detail. By the scenarios, I mean there could be a tournament with the players and the caddies and media.
“The second could be tournament play with a pro-am component. Third could be a tournament with potentially hospitality and no general admission at all. These are all hypothetical at this point, but locally, we’re focusing on really reaching out to who normally supports us.”
The Champions Tour will follow similar protocols as the PGA Tour.
However, as we’ve seen in the last week, not much goes as planned these days. Two golfers tested positive at the Travelers Championship. Nick Watney also tested positive the previous week.
A number of golfers also withdrew because they came in contact with someone who tested positive, either their caddie, a playing partner or someone else.
The PGA Tour elevated their safety protocols in response. A few of the upgrades include testing after they get off the charter flight to the next tournament., adding their coaches to those in the bubble who get tested, and having the Tour-sponsored fitness trailers on site, so golfers don’t go to off-site gyms.
Another thing that all tournaments are grappling with is how limited or no fans would affect the financials. The Conquistadores use revenues raised during this tournament for youth sports in the community, while Exact Sciences — the company behind Cologuard — has the main goal of raising awareness around colon cancer.
Tucson gains an economic boost from the tournament. This comes from all the golfers, their families and caddies; Tour staff; title sponsor; media; visitors and others coming in to stay for a number of days and spending money in town. A limited number of fans would greatly reduce the money brought in, by millions of dollars.
“In theory, golf is less affected by the pandemic as long as you have the tournament,” Daniel Rascher, Founder and President of SportsEconomics LLC, said. “The impact on Tucson only comes from visiting fans, even if there are around 10,000 and they end up spending up to $300 per day. One thing I’ve noticed is that people stay much longer than the 3-4 days of the tournament. The numbers grow if they stay a week. The golf visitor spends more than a typical tourist, stays in nicer places and the income is usually higher for a PGA Tour fan. It’s better having the tournament than not having it – even if people aren’t there.”
What all this means for the Cologuard Classic right now is unknown. After all, February is months away.
For now, time is on their side. The Conquistadores are optimistic that the Cologuard Classic will be played at the Omni Tucson National Resort.
“It’s interesting times for sure,” McDermott said. “We were so lucky to get the 2020 event in. Thank goodness the community came out for us and we’re still giving away money and meeting monthly and funding our mission. Time is on our side is the good news.
“I think capitalizing on what a great event we had last year, obviously the players coming on — (Phil) Mickelson is 50 now. (Former UA standout Jim) Furyk is going to be 50. The fields are going to keep getting better and better and better.”
