Yahoo News Golfers to wear microphones when European Tour resumes: 'Covid-19 allows you permission to try things'
Professional golfers are set to wear microphones in serious competition for the first time when the European Tour resumes in July.
Keith Pelley, the Tour’s chief executive, is determined to use the unprecedented run of six behind-closed-doors tournaments in Britain “to do things completely different from a television perspective”.
“Covid-19 allows you to have permission to try things,” Pelley said. “Nobody is going to lose their card this year, that reduces the pressure. It really comes down to how open and creative you are and how your players want to embrace change.”
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson played in a televised exhibition on Sunday in Florida that earned rave reviews, with much of the success put down to the insight provided by the player microphones. And with no fans allowed for at least the first few months back on Tour, Pelley is ready to break new ground to counter the lack of atmosphere.
“Technology has come so far, it [the microphone] is really small and won’t disturb your swing,” he said. “Once you’ve done wireless mics in competition a few times it just becomes commonplace. We’ve got some ideas to implement during the six-week UK swing and hopefully generate some real interest.”
The last five have been hastily arranged at courses boasting on-site hotels to provide a “bubble” and will be funded by the Tour. The purses will “only” be €1 million (£900,000) each, as the financial impact of cancelling or postponing 30 tournaments hits hard.
Players will be tested for coronavirus at least once at each venue and the Tour expects dispensation from Britain’s two-week quarantine to be given to overseas players.
“We wouldn’t be announcing these events without having had significant dialogue with the Government,” Pelley said.
The Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship have also been confirmed in October, with the season finishing in Dubai on December 13.
The Tour hopes to announce the rest of the schedule soon, with the Irish Open pencilled in for October, and perhaps the Dunhill Links at St Andrews as well. That could make it as many as 10 tournaments in the British Isles in 14 weeks.
Pelley played down any fears of the Tour being in financial trouble. “Some might want to ask the question, is the European Tour bankrupt or running out of money, and I would say, absolutely not,” he added.
“Of course, we’ve been affected like millions of businesses, but we’ve worked hard and been extremely responsible in our financial approach to this global crisis.”
