PGA TOUR extends partnership with Sanford Health to conduct COVID-19 testing at tournaments
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that Sanford Health will continue to conduct all on-site COVID-19 testing of players, caddies and essential personnel at PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions tournaments in the continental United States.
The collaboration began in June during the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season when tournament play resumed at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, after a nine-week pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are extremely grateful to Sanford Health for the instrumental role they’ve played in the TOUR’s safe and responsible return to golf over the last eight months,” said Andy Levinson, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President Tournament Administration. “With health and safety continuing to be our No. 1 priority, we are thrilled to extend this game-changing partnership with Sanford Health, utilizing their expertise in testing players, caddies and essential personnel going.”
Sanford Health lab technicians will continue traveling to tournaments in one of three mobile testing units deployed across the country. Each unit, staffed by a driver and three to four technicians, will arrive the Saturday prior to the tournament to begin processing RT PCR tests.
Each swab collection takes less than five minutes to administer, and test results are returned typically between two and four hours, with approximately 500-700 individuals expected to be tested on-site each week. To date, Sanford Health has conducted more than 18,500 tests for the PGA TOUR from the mobile laboratories.
“Continuing to play a role in helping the PGA TOUR and its golfers safely tee it up each week is a real sense of pride for Sanford Health,” said Micah Aberson, executive vice president of Sanford Health. “Our employees have stepped up to provide a service that is essential to the game during the pandemic, brings joy to people who love watching the sport and benefits the communities where these tournaments are played.”
Sanford Health will continue as an Official Marketing Partner as part of their commitment to support PGA TOUR COVID-19 testing. Sanford Health is also title sponsor of the Sanford International, a PGA TOUR Champions event in Sioux Falls scheduled for September 13-19, 2021.
About Sanford Health Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the United States, is dedicated to the integrated delivery of health care, genomic medicine, senior care and services, global clinics, research and affordable insurance. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization includes 46 hospitals, 1,400 physicians and more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations in 26 states and 10 countries. Learn more about Sanford Health’s transformative work to improve the human condition at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
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