PGA Tour Memo: At-Home Testing "Encouraged" But Not Mandatory

The PGA Tour has "expanded its health and safety blueprint via a 34-page Participant Resource Guide," and although the guide includes a policy stating that COVID-19 testing is a "condition of competition, the at-home test players and caddies take before travelling to a tournament is actually 'strongly encouraged,' but not required," according to Rex Hoggard of GOLFCHANNEL.com. If a player or caddie tests positive for the coronavirus while at a tournament, they will "receive a stipend from the Tour to cover medical and quarantine costs, but only if they’ve taken the at-home test before travelling and tested negative." Players also are required to "begin self-screening each day for seven days prior to tournament travel," which for most players began yesterday. The policy also outlines "how testing will be handled when players and caddies arrive in tournament cities." The "current plan is to 'turnaround' the tests in approximately 24 hours and players will have access to the golf course and practice facility before the test is returned." Players will be "issued a wristband or lanyard when a negative test is confirmed that will then allow them access to the locker room and clubhouse" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 6/1).