Keith Pelley interview: Golf's European Tour chief on crowd return hopes, Ryder Cup and rapid Covid-19 testing

European Tour chief Keith Pelley is hopeful that crowds could return to golf this season
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With his swing off the first tee, world no369 Justin Walters got the European Tour on British soil back under way at the behind-closed-doors British Masters on Wednesday morning.

The tournament marks the first part of a six-event British swing aimed at reducing travel on the Tour as it resumes in earnest.

The Tour was a month slower in restarting than the PGA Tour across the Atlantic, which has stated it will have no spectators for the rest of the season.

But European Tour CEO Keith Pelley is hopeful crowds might be allowed back at European Tour events before the 2020 season concludes.

“One of our great strengths in the past – namely that as golf’s global Tour we play in so many countries – is one of our greatest challenges in this situation because every country is different in its approach to dealing with this pandemic,” he told Standard Sport.

“We are looking into the possibility of spectator attendance events played later in 2020 but we are not committed to it at this stage. It completely depends on the mitigation of risk and government approval of the country we are playing in.”

The European Tour has erred on the side of caution in terms of its playing resumption in the UK in contrast with the PGA Tour, which had a number of positive tests for Covid-19 among both players and caddies.

Pelley defended the delayed return, highlighting the fact the European Tour could visit as many as 16 countries before the close of the season in contrast to the PGA Tour taking place on just American soil.

The British Masters got under way at Close House in Newcastle on Wednesday
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But in resuming, Pelley believes the Tour’s travelling Covid-19 laboratory is a match for anything in global sport, churning out any positive results quicker than in English football’s top-flight.

“We took time to ensure our testing regime is the best it can be and I am proud to say that our testing facility is cutting edge,” he said. “We have transformed our existing mobile physio unit into a state-of-the-art laboratory which travels to all our events.

“From this facility, our players and everyone involved in our tournaments receive their test results in an average of two to four hours, some six times faster than the English Premier League.”

For now, the majority of Europe’s biggest stars are playing in the US and Pelley admitted the European Tour was working to get its top players to compete in the revised calendar.

The big golfing casualties of the coronavirus so far have been the cancellation of The Open, which had been scheduled for last week, and the Ryder Cup, which has been delayed by a year.

On the latter’s postponement, Pelley said: “Together with the PGA of America, we considered all options including playing with a limited attendance.

“But the medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event safely and responsibly with any number of spectators in September would be possible.

"Given that uncertainty, we knew rescheduling was the right call.”

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