Albertsons Boise Open won’t have fans, but it will help determine U.S. Open qualifiers
Jeff Sanders has been running the Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club since the tournament’s inception in 1990.
He also estimates that he’s orchestrated 250 professional golf events over the past 34 years.
But the 2020 season has really thrown him for a loop.
Thanks a lot, coronavirus.
“It’s like we’re running our first tournament,” Sanders told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview last week. “These rules and regulations and safety compliance guidelines are new. They’re new for everybody.”
The 31st annual Albertsons Boise Open — one of the four original tournaments from the inaugural season of what is now the Korn Ferry Tour — runs Thursday through Sunday with a host of changes from years past.
It’s no simple task running a safe golf tournament in the midst of a global pandemic, but here’s how Sanders and his staff are pulling things off in Boise.
Testing takes center stage
Before any player, caddie, staff member or volunteer can set foot on the grounds at Hillcrest Country Club, they must be tested for COVID-19.
The Korn Ferry Tour uses a saliva test, and results are back within 48 hours. Those who test negative are allowed on the property, and temperature checks are conducted every day thereafter.
“We take it very, very seriously,” Sanders said. “Our No. 1 priority is safety first, and the golf tournament really is second.”
The tour follows safety protocols outlined in a 60-page manual. The entire tournament is run with social distancing in mind, with an emphasis on avoiding lines and crowed areas. Breakfast and lunch are served in a takeaway boxed format, and the dinner buffet has been eliminated. Players ride solo in golf carts.
Fans have to stay home
The Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental tour for aspiring PGA Tour golfers, began its revised 2020 schedule in June. For the safety of the golfers, staff, volunteers and communities hosting the tournaments, events have been conducted without fans.
That’s been one of the hardest changes to stomach, Sanders said, but it’s necessary to avoid potentially spreading the coronavirus.
“The players would really prefer to have fans, because they’re all in a sense entertaining people,” Sanders said. “So it’s a little bit harder for them to not see anybody out there watching them play golf. It’s strange as a player to be on the golf course and when you make a putt no one claps or when you hit a good drive, no one claps.
“We haven’t gone to the cardboard people yet, but we’ve thought about it.”
With no fans in attendance, the tournament’s popular outdoor concert, which has featured the likes of country singer Justin Moore and classic rock band Cheap Trick, won’t be happening either after competition wraps up on Saturday.
How are local charities affected?
The Tickets Fore Charity program had to be suspended for this year’s tournament since it will be played without fans.
Under normal circumstances, local nonprofits receive 100% of the proceeds they make from selling tickets to the tournament. The program has donated an estimated $25 million to Treasure Valley charities since 1990.
The Albertsons Foundation, which sponsors the Boise tournament, still plans to donate to local charities, but that exact amount — and the recipients — has not been announced.
You can still watch
Sanders estimates that the television audience for the Korn Ferry Tour has “doubled or tripled” this season.
The Golf Channel will capture the action at Hillcrest Country Club this week. Broadcast times are scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 3-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Last year’s tournament was won by Matthew NeSmith, who shot a final-round 64 and made birdie on the final hole to finish at 19-under. NeSmith took home $180,000 for the win, and players will vie for a share of a $1 million purse again this year.
Past winners of the Boise Open include Tim Clark, Jason Gore, Kevin Stadler, Hunter Haas, Jason Kokrak and Kevin Tway.
Lee Hodges, 25, is coming off a win at the WinCo Foods Portland Open at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon. The Portland victory was Hodges’ first on the Korn Ferry Tour, and it earned him a spot in the 2020 U.S. Open.
Hodges tees off on hole No. 1 at 1:14 p.m. Thursday with Will Zalatoris and Davis Riley. Zalatoris leads the Korn Ferry points standings, while Riley is second and Hodges third.
What’s at stake?
The 2020 Korn Ferry season has been combined with the 2021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so PGA Tour promotion won’t occur until the end of the 2021 season.
Instead of the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals, the 2020 season features the Korn Ferry Tour Championship Series.
The top 10 players in the Korn Ferry Tour point standings at the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship will earn entry into the PGA Tour’s additional events (also known as opposite-field events) during the 2020-21 season.
The top five players (not otherwise exempt) on a three-tournament points list encompassing the Albertsons Boise Open, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and Korn Ferry Tour Championship will receive exemptions into the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, which will be played Sept. 17-20.
