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A significant number of players on the PGA Tour and European Tour are yet to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, bunkered.co.uk has learned. 

At present, 85% of the European Tour’s playing membership has received both doses of the vaccine.

On the PGA Tour, the number provided is 83%. However, in the case of the latter, the number represents all of the circuit’s “constituents”, comprising players, caddies, essential staff such as rules officials, media officials and others who have close contact with players.

It is believed that the number of playing members to have received both doses is somewhere between 70% and 80%.

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The Ladies European Tour revealed that approximately 90% of its members are fully vaccinated. The LPGA has not, as yet, responded to bunkered.co.uk’s request for the vaccination status of its member players.

It is not currently mandatory for players to be vaccinated on any of the four aforementioned tours.

That’s in contrast to the Asian Tour which recently announced plans for its long-awaited resumption. On hiatus since the initial COVID lockdown in March 2020, it intends to get underway again next month with back-to-back tournaments in Thailand, followed by two more events in Singapore after Christmas.

As a condition of entry for these events, the tour is mandating that players are double jabbed.

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A spokesperson for the Asian Tour told bunkered.co.uk: “As we have not been tournament active since March 2020 – and combined our 2020 & 2021 schedules as a result – a number of “Members” haven’t played in any of our events in the current cycle and hence haven’t paid their annual Membership fee and therefore aren’t strictly classified as Members at this time.”

The news comes as the World Health Organisation announced a 7% rise in new coronavirus cases across Europe last week. The agency also reported about 2.7 million new cases and more than 46,000 deaths worldwide last week.

In the UK, the number of infections has surged to levels not seen since mid-July, prompting fears of a return to some mitigation measures with winter fast approaching.


author headshot

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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