September may be the month to get the motors going again; the PGA could be the winning card.
Frank Rainieri of Puntacana Group said it earlier this month. The PGA Tournament, now on the books for September, can be the best playing card for the reopening of the Dominican tourism industry. He explained that the best golf players have not been able to play in tournaments because of Covid-19, so the timing of the September tournament is perfect. The top players will come to the Dominican Republic. It could be one of the first global sports to restart. And it would be happening in our Punta Cana, where the country’s boom of tourism took off 50 years ago. “We will have more audience and coverage than ever before,” says Rainier
The Puntacana Group is the sponsor of the tournament, an US$8 million investment. “We will be able to hold the event that will tell the world Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic are open and are safe. People will understand that those big-time golfers would not travel is they were not sure they would be 110% safe,” he said.
The tournament will be transmitted live by Golf Channel for three days and during prime time on NBC from 2 to 5pm on Saturday. And then from 11 to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and on the networks. That is prime exposure.
“There is no event in the Dominican Republic that can compare to that event in international projection. We have received comments from all around the world,” he highlights. He said golf is not just an American sport. It started in Scotland and there is a strong following in Spain, and last year a Korean golfer won. The audience is great in Japan.
Rainieri explained that golf is global and reaches all markets in the world. He forecast golf will get a boost now because it is a sport where physical distancing is natural. Everyone can have their golf cart. He expects people to be careful in the next year or so and when you play golf, you are playing just with three persons that don’t have to be close. He forecast there will be more golf players in the next two years than in previous years.
Indeed, the Puntacana Resort & Club and Casa de Campo, two of the largest resort communities with large golf facilities, have announced they are ready to open on 1 July.
The PGA Tour and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship are scheduled for 21-27 September 2020 in Punta Cana. The tournament would have been held in march but was rescheduled due to Covid-19.
23 June 2020