The PGA Tour on Thursday canceled July's John Deere Classic, which was scheduled to be held in Silvis, Ill., two weeks before the 3M Open in Blaine in this interrupted golf season.
3M Open officials, meantime, awaited word from state government concerning proposals they previously submitted. Their plans range from as many as 5,000 spectators allowed to as few as the 1,300 people needed to stage and televise a tournament scheduled for July 23-26.
Tournament executive director Hollis Cavner said Wednesday he believes the 3M Open will be played either way — or with crowds somewhere in between.
Time is ticking for an event less than two months away that must notify vendors of its needs and decide how many structures must be raised to hold it.
The PGA Tour is set to resume its season without spectators June 11-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas. It suspended its season before the Players Championships' second round in Florida the second week in March.
The John Deere Classic was scheduled to be the fourth tournament back, July 9-12 — and the first tournament played with some number of spectators. It was canceled Thursday because of what a PGA Tour statement called "ongoing local and state-related challenges related to gathering restrictions."
The PGA Tour said a new tournament to be named will fill that vacated week.
JERRY ZGODA
