File photo for reference only
by Michael Bridge
This week I went to Siam Country Club's Waterside in my capacity as a golf journalist, only to find no spectators watching this US$750 Asian Tour event.
The organisers explained that they had been told by the local authorities that it would not be safe to allow spectators onto the course.
Yet down the road at the Nong Prue Stadium, the Pattaya Dolphins United on the same weekend attracted over 1,000 football fans to their final match of the season.
OK, the authorities are concerned about the continuing pandemic, but are they not being a bit too overprotective in some cases.
Similar figures
According to online figures last Friday the number of new cases reported in Thailand was 25,140. On the same day, 36,379 new cases were reported in the States and 25,305 across the UK.
File photo for reference only
Other events with spectators
Being able to watch the famous Grand National from Aintree was back for 2022 after coronavirus restricted fans from attending last year.
And on Saturday while 10 million racing betting fans watched the Grand National at home, while around 70,000 lucky punters manage to buy Grand National tickets and attend the race live.
Also, on Saturday over in the states, The Masters, perhaps the greatest golf tournament in the world, welcomed over 40,000 patrons to the course every day.
Yet here in Thailand not one member of the public was allowed to attend the Honda LPGA Thailand last month or this week's Asian Tours tournament in Pattaya.
As the Thai government stated way back when Covid started, that exercise was good, and playing golf was an accepted socially distancing sport.
In May Pattaya is hosting a mega music festival for thousands who will all be up close dancing to the World's top DJs.
Do authorities really think it is not acceptable for even a couple of thousand golf fans to walk around the massive 18-hole course?
Sometimes the powers to be, need to be realistic and let us carry on with an almost normal life!