England’s top player, Tommy Fleetwood, was the world No. 10, one spot ahead of Tiger Woods, when the PGA Tour suspended its schedule in March. With four top-3 finishes in his seven worldwide starts before the coronavirus halted the season, Fleetwood had momentum on his side. But when tour play resumed last week, he was on the wrong side of the Atlantic.
In its haste to return, the tour, whose playing membership spans the globe, set up the stakes so that any player not based in the United States was effectively out of bounds. From Fleetwood’s perch in northwest England, the hazards were many, including a two-way quarantine, the possibility of catching the virus from a fellow passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight, and a months-long separation from his wife, Clare; their two-year-old son, Franklin; and his stepsons Oscar, 13, and Mo, 12.
“If I was living in America,” Fleetwood said, “I’d be playing right now.” But he doesn’t, and so he is not.
Golf is not the only sport that has forged ahead without the full support of its competitive membership. This week’s decision by the United States Tennis Association to hold its marquee event, the United States Open, later in the summer in New York, one of the cities hardest hit by the virus, drew a sharp rebuke from the Australian player Nick Kyrgios. On Twitter, Kyrgios described the move as “selfish” and wrote, “People that live in the U.S. of course are pushing the Open to go ahead.”
He added, “I’ll get my hazmat suit ready for when I travel from Australia and then have to quarantine for two weeks on my return.”
Kyrgios’s countryman Adam Scott, a former major winner, was the only player in men’s golf based outside the United States other than Fleetwood in the top-10 when the season was suspended. He also struggled with the idea of a restart, and some of his concerns were validated on Friday when Nick Watney, an American player, withdrew before the second round of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Watney had tested negative at the start of the week as a condition of entering the tour’s so-called bubble and playing this week.
In an interview last month with an Australian news service, Scott, who is married with young children, expressed reservations about the tour’s testing protocols. He worried about contracting the virus from an asymptomatic player, and of triggering the nightmarish — for him — possibility of having to ride out the illness in self-isolation in a strange city, far from his family.
Scott, 39, said that he is not likely to return to the tour until late July, at the World Golf Championships event in Memphis. That is one week earlier than the Italian star Francesco Molinari, who was in the process of relocating his family from London to the United States when the lockdown began. The closure of most government offices prevented him from completing the embassy paperwork he needed to finalize the move.
Molinari, 37, now fully recovered from a back injury that kept him from defending his title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, expects his next tour start to be the year’s first contested major, the PGA Championship in San Francisco.
Fleetwood, who has been in regular contact with Molinari over the past three months, also decided to sit out the restart. Instead, he will turn his PGA Tour return next month into an extended family summer vacation. With his wife and sons in tow, Fleetwood will travel to New York in mid-July, and after a two-week quarantine, rejoin the tour for the World Golf Championships. He plans to stay in the United States through the end of September.
Fleetwood said he initially questioned the ethics of athletes’ jumping to the front of the line for coronavirus testing, leapfrogging essential workers.
As testing has expanded, though, that concern has subsided, but the health and well-being of his family remains a primary concern. His stepson Oscar has Type 1 diabetes, putting him at more risk if he were to be infected with the coronavirus.
Fleetwood said he could not imagine a situation in which he would leave his family behind for three months to fend for itself while the pandemic has not run its course.
““There are no easy answers when you live outside the United States,” said Fleetwood. He said he was mildly frustrated that the official world rankings, which were frozen in mid-March, were unlocked when the PGA Tour restarted, especially while other tours whose players are represented in the rankings remain suspended.
Fleetwood stands to lose money in sponsors’ performance bonuses as his world ranking falls, but he said that would not alter his decisions.
“My ranking drop doesn’t affect me as much as someone who’s trying to stay in the top-50 or top-100,” he said. “Golf is more than the PGA Tour, and the players on the other tours are the ones who are really affected.”
The Coronavirus Outbreak
Frequently Asked Questions and Advice
Updated June 16, 2020
I’ve heard about a treatment called dexamethasone. Does it work?
The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.
What is pandemic paid leave?
The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.
Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
How does blood type influence coronavirus?
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
How can I protect myself while flying?
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
How do I take my temperature?
Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
How do I get tested?
If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.
Lee Westwood, a former world No. 1, had dropped outside the top-70 last July, then soared to No. 30 on the strength of a victory in Abu Dhabi in January. Because he still has reservations about leaving his home in Britain to rejoin the tour, Westwood, 47, is backsliding in the rankings, which play a role in filling the tournament fields in the most prestigious events.
“I’m not very keen on flying at the moment, especially to the States, where they seem to have adopted a more relaxed approach to tackling the virus,” Westwood said in an interview with the daily golf newsletter Morning Read. “Our rules over here seem far tighter.”
Not every player is concerned about the consequences of caution, however. Rory McIlroy, the Florida-based world No. 1 from Northern Ireland, expressed little sympathy for his fellow Europeans who are being displaced as part of the pandemic’s tectonic shifts.
“If you really care about your career and care about moving forward, you should be here,” McIlroy said Wednesday during a virtual news conference from this week’s Tour stop, the RBC Heritage.
But what about his fellow Europeans with young children, whose paths are not as straightforward?
“I get there’s variables, families involved,” McIlroy said. “We all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida and it’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine.”
He added: “You can bring your family with you. We all have the means to do that. It might seem a little harsh but I don’t get that mind-set, especially if you care about your career and want to advance.”
From 4,000 miles away, Fleetwood stood his ground. Yes, golf is important, he said, “but family comes first.”
Source: Golf - nytimes.com