NY Times · Mar 13, 2020
PGA Tour Shuts Down in Response to the Coronavirus
Erik S Lesser/EPA, via Shutterstock
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The PGA Tour responded to the coronavirus outbreak on Thursday night by canceling the remainder of the Players Championship, its signature event, and shutting down all of its events until at least April 9, the start date of the Masters.
The cancellation of the Players Championship came roughly 10 hours after an announcement that the tournament would continue without fans for the final three rounds. The first round was completed on Thursday with a smaller-than-usual crowd watching as Hideki Matsuyama took the lead by two strokes over Harris English and tied the tournament record with a nine-under-par score of 63.