PGA Championship venue Harding Park reopening on Monday

(Reuters) – The Harding Park golf course which is scheduled to host the PGA Championship in August will reopen on Monday.

The course closed seven weeks ago due to a local “shelter in place” order in San Francisco over coronavirus concerns.

“The San Francisco Office of Public Health has permitted golf with the implementation of practices that minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19,” TPC Harding Park said on its website on Sunday.

“In order for us to abide by those standards and create a safe environment for everyone, we ask for your help.”

It listed a number of rules including that golfers must remain at least six feet (1.8 metres) apart and play in the order they start, with no playing through allowed.

Harding Park had been originally slated to host the PGA Championship from May 14-17, but the event has been rescheduled for Aug. 6-9, by which time it is hoped the coronavirus outbreak has been largely controlled.

The PGA Championship is one of three majors to be rescheduled this year, with the U.S. Open moving from June to September and the Masters from April to November.

The British Open has been cancelled.

The PGA Tour’s weekly circuit of tournaments is scheduled to resume on June 11 with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be contested without any fans in attendance.

Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar

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source: reuters.com