I did notice that there was no a mask in sight. I’m going to South Carolina (to Hilton Head) in June. My friends who live there are very observant and are not happy that masks are not only not common but banned by some business owners.
I plan to spend most of my time outdoors. On the beach.
I was in and out of several stores today where signs were posted saying masks were only required if not fully vaccinated. Even with that, there was almost 100% mask wearing.
Business owners BANNING masks? That’s pathetic
Yup. My husband was among that crowd, hence the reason for our flight. I think many people at that tournament were from out of state and hopefully, like us, are fully vaccinated.
I did, and what also made me uncomfortable was how little security there seemed to be for the players. They had to walk through rowdy crowds to get to the next location, and people were actually reaching out and putting their hands on some of the players.
I will admit I only watched the last 2 holes because DH had turned it on. So maybe that just happened at the end when it was getting suspenseful.
What I noticed today on the news recaps was that none of the tour rangers (wearing the striped shirts) had masks on, none of the security officers (state troopers and other law enforcement) and none of the golfers or caddies.
It’s pretty clear that they didn’t care who, if anyone, was wearing masks. There is no way to know who had been vaccinated.
I have to admit, living in a humid state that tends to be 70-100 degrees most of the year, wearing a mask is hot. If you’re out walking in the sun, it’s hotter.
Our state hopes to get 60% of its residents to be fully vaccinated by June and 70% by July. I’m hoping that will make covid much
less common, especially once vaccines are approved for 2-12 year olds.
Living in Texas where it can be very humid and 105 degrees or more in the summer, I agree with you. It’s easy as pie to wear a mask in the OR where it’s freezing all the time. But outside in the heat, it’s very uncomfortable.
For our state, most are following gov’s mask mandates and wearing masks indoors. Outdoors, most neighborhoods have folks trying to keep their distance but no masks—too hot & humid!
RE: lack of security for the players, the golfer who came in second (don’t recall his name) stated that he thought someone in the crowd struck his surgically repaired knee at some point. He seemed to think it was on purpose, to help Mickelson.
I told my husband “someone could punch someone’s shoulder”, which of course is very important for the sport of golf. Didn’t think about the knee, but the point is that the players should be protected from the spectators!
My DH works the Byron Nelson every year, and he was astonished at the way the tournament was run, not just security, but the overall issue of crowd control.
Agreed. We usually attend the Masters, so watching the crowd at 18 yesterday was really jarring. H thought he saw someone grab Phil’s shoulder. I would not be surprised if someone tried to hurt Koepka - the crowd was beyond rowdy. No way I would want to be swept up in that even without Covid. Throw in Covid, and I would have been beyond upset to get caught up in the melee. You’d think Covid was eradicated. Sometimes I feel like I don’t fit when I see how my fellow man acts.
Yikes! When they have the Sony Open in Honolulu, they keep the players a good distance from the crowd. It seems that’s how it ought to be, especially with covid.
The PGA apologized for the unruly crowd and how they overwhelmed Phil and Brooks.
I like to follow golf Twitter. Reporters on the course said that the crowd was unruly all day. Lots of drinking. Security should have had a better plan, considering who was leading and that it was one of the first tournaments with crowds.
Last weekend there were crowds at the NBA playoffs, at baseball games and also at the PGA championship. While it looks jarring to see these crowds, sport leagues and states have decided they are safe and the players seem happy to see crowds back in the stands.
It’s a shame the crowd was unruly, but being outdoors, there was very little danger of Covid transmission. Outdoor BLM protests weren’t superspreader events, nor were outdoor Trump rallies (indoor ones were another story, as Herman Cain found out). Nor, more recently, were the crowd of 73,000 for the Alvarez-Saunders fight at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, or the capacity crowds for the Texas Rangers. The virus just doesn’t survive and transmit well in fresh outdoor air.
Wife and I got our second Moderna shots yesterday. I think she’s taking the day off, but I’m too busy with work (from home). Might log off a little early. Drinking water and taking Tylenol yesterday helped, but I don’t feel tip-top.
I had not heard that PGA apologized. I wonder what changes might be made going forward. With those kinds of crowds, I don’t know what could be done if a crowd decides they are just not going to respect the ropes and security people. Kind of scary for the players.
I could not tell at all that Mickelson was “unnerved” by it. At the time I said to my husband that his composure and focus were pretty impressive.
The White House Rose Garden event introducing the Supreme Court nominee last year was an outdoor superspreader event.
Most of those people at the White House also gathered indoors. And they spent a lot of time speaking directly to one another, and weren’t moving around the way golf galleries do. If the golf spectators packed into local indoor establishments after the tournament, that’s its own problem. But I do doubt there was a lot of Covid spread on the course itself.
My daughter has been back to seeing her friends (who are now vaccinated) and enjoying her city (including occasional T riding). She told me this weekend - I am so much happier (and I am happy for her being happier).
There are many ways the Masters event was different from the White House Rose Garden event, not least that due to so many people vaccinated, there is less virus to spread around. Nevertheless, there were cases that resulted from people in close proximity for a meaningful amount of time outdoors.