Following George Floyd‘s murder in Minneapolis, several athletes have honored his memory. Participants in the PGA Tour will continue to do so during the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. The tournament, which started on Thursday and runs through Sunday, will feature several moments of silence in honor of Floyd.
The Tour revealed the news in a statement on Tuesday. It confirmed that there would be no tee times at 8:46 a.m., which coincides with the amount of time now-fired police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck. Golf carts will come to a halt, participants will remove their hats and traffic would be the only noise. Some players explained they would use this time to pray.
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We support the @PGATOUR and this morning’s moment of silence during the 8:46 a.m. (CT) tee time @CSChallengeFW, which is being left vacant to honor the memory of George Floyd. pic.twitter.com/pFVZtyxV86
— TOUR Championship (@playofffinale) June 11, 2020
“As the PGA Tour commits to amplifying the voices and efforts underway to end systemic issues of racial and social injustices impacting our country,” officials said in the statement, “we have reserved the 8:46 a.m. tee time at the Charles Schwab Challenge to pay our respects to the memory of George Floyd. We will pause at 8:46 a.m. during each round for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection.” The Tour officials will begin the moments of silence with three horn blasts, bringing about a pause in the action.
The first instance of this moment of silence took place on Thursday when the Charles Schwab Challenge began. This was the first professional golf tournament since a COVID-19-forced postponement, and the officials used this return as an opportunity to make a statement. Commissioner Jay Monahan stood at the first tee on Thursday, bowing his head during the moment of silence.
“My hero growing up was Tiger Woods,” Irish golfer Rory McIlroy said, per ESPN. “Tiger doesn’t look the same as me, has a different upbringing to the one that I have had, but he was my hero growing up. And it didn’t matter what color his skin was, what his beliefs were. Tiger was my hero, and he’s been a lot of kids’ hero over the years that have grown up playing golf. We’ve been lucky to have him in our game. I think that there should be more people like him in golf.” McIlroy said that he hopes this will prompt real change in America, which he now calls home.
