Sports News | British Open Hopeful for 75% Capacity, Without Chaos of PGA

Kiawah Island, May 26 (AP) Along with the coastal views at Kiawah Island for the PGA Championship, it was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that a major championship actually sounded like one.

A larger gathering could happen on the other side of the Atlantic.

The R&A said on Tuesday it was optimistic that Royal St. George's could have as much as 75% capacity for the British Open on July 15-21. Martin Slumbers, the CEO, also said capacity for golf's oldest championship could be as low as 25%.

So much depends on government regulations, and that won't be determined until a month before the Open.

"The big uncertainty for us is clarity with the government and health authorities around social distancing, and that will determine what the atmosphere will be like at the Open," Slumbers said.

"We are building the infrastructure as we would normally build, so there's the big grandstands going around the 18th and around the first, and we're building them in a way that we can adapt for social distancing depending on what the rules are going to be.

"I'm keen to get as many spectators in as possible because I do think that's what creates the atmosphere, and I think actually it's what makes the players play just a little bit better."

Watching the PGA Championship from the home of golf, Slumbers said it was a clear there was a gap between the U.S. and the UK in terms of restrictions.

What he wants to avoid is the chaos that erupted on the 18th hole at Kiawah when Phil Mickelson was swallowed up by the crowd and had to fight his way through to the green.

That's a typical scene, though far more orderly, at the British Open. Crowds often follow the final group down the fairway toward the green, but at some distance.

"We're very careful on how we move the crowds around, so we will continue to keep the crowds on the side of the 18th until it's all over and then allow them to move closer to the green," Slumbers said.

"The whole thing is a balance to getting the excitement but making sure the players are safe.”

Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, issued an apology to Mickelson and Brooks Koepka about the wild scene that trapped them Sunday. Koepka said his tender right knee was dinged a few times trying to get through.

"While we welcome enthusiastic fan engagement, we regret that a moment of high elation and pent-up emotion by spectators on the 18th hole ... briefly overwhelmed security and made two players and their caddies feel vulnerable,” Waugh said.

"We always put player safety at the top of our list and are grateful that order was restored."

Waugh said he apologized to Mickelson and Koepka on behalf of the PGA.

INBEE'S SORROW

What should be a happy occasion for Inbee Park playing an LPGA Tour event in her adopted hometown of Las Vegas comes with a touch of sorrow.

Park, the seven-time major champion and Olympic gold medalist, learned Monday that her grandfather died in South Korea.

"He is the one that really got me into this game, and he would probably want me to be playing this week," Park said from the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek.

"Want to make him proud, so really want to play well this week and enjoy while I'm here in Las Vegas."

Park said her grandfather, B.J. Park, had been hospitalized for four years. She won the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore and flew to South Korea to see him. She said doctors told her it would be a good time to say goodbye.

"It was probably the saddest thing I ever had done, but send him to a good place and my family back home, friends and everybody, just wished him well," she said.

"So yeah, I think he's going to a good place. He'll be watching me from the sky, from heaven."

RYDER CUP IMPLICATIONS

Until the PGA Championship, the safe bet was that Phil Mickelson would only be at the Ryder Cup if he was driving a cart as an assistant captain.

Now that he has won a major, that makes it a little more complicated for U.S. captain Steve Stricker.

The last major champion left off a Ryder Cup team was Todd Hamilton, who was 38 when he won the British Open in 2004 at Royal Troon. He did not finish among the top 15 in points.

Mickelson moved up 36 spots to No. 16 with still just over three months left.

Stricker was asked on Saturday, while Mickelson was still on the course, if he was in the mix for a captain's pick.

"Obviously, if he were to go on and win here and continue to play some great golf — but he hasn't played really all that well up to this point, spurts here and there,” Stricker said.

He said winning at Kiawah Island would count for a lot because the course is similar in conditions to Whistling Straits.

"We'll look at who played well here this week for sure, because this is a telltale for Whistling Straits,” Stricker said.

Mickelson has played the Ryder Cup the last 12 times, an American record. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)