PGA Championship: The Return of Excited Cheers

At the PGA Championship, held at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, 50-year-old American pro-golfer Phil Mickelson won the championship.

As Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major golf championship, loud cheers and excited shouting erupted from fans in the gallery, and the event took on a festive atmosphere.

Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama finished in 23rd place, but as a Masters champion, he was received warmly by the gallery fans at every hole. It was all a spectacle that we have not seen in a long time. It was clear that the excitement and passion was built by a combination of the players’ skill and the cheers and applause from the audience.

At the event, per CDC guidelines, some guests were not required to wear a mask outside* and up to 10,000 guests were allowed into the gallery each day. Watching via relay broadcast, it was hard to find anyone wearing a mask in the gallery.

As expected, we experienced a feeling of apprehension about the extremely dense crowd gathered in the gallery at the last hole, but every face burst into delight at the popular players’ brilliant achievements. There was a lingering worry about rekindling widespread infection, but nevertheless, the desire for a return to regular life was greater.

In the U.S., which had the most cases of COVID-19 infections in the world, this scene was able to happen because of proactive measures to promote vaccination.

According to the U.K.-based statistics site Our World in Data, as of May 18, 62.8% of people in Israel had received at least one vaccine, 54.2% in the U.K., and 47.3% in the U.S., and consequently, the spread of infections has been trending toward a decrease.

In the U.K., which has a higher vaccination rate than the U.S., bans on hugging have been lifted. In addition, restaurants have reopened for indoor dining.

In contrast, Japan’s vaccination rate is only 3.9%. This rate is less than the worldwide average of 9.2%, and the lowest among the other 37 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ranking at 110th in the world.

On May 24, the Japan Self-Defense Forces began a belated large-scale vaccination campaign, rolling out vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka. Other locations have followed suit. The only way forward to return to normal life is to endure self-restraint during the state of emergency and increase the number of vaccinations.

We would like to see the national and local governments take all possible steps to increase vaccinations and talk concretely about the light at the end of the tunnel.

*Editor’s note: Per CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated individuals are not required to wear a mask indoors or outdoors unless otherwise mandated by state or local law or regulations. Unvaccinated individuals should wear a mask indoors at all times and outdoors when they cannot be socially distanced or otherwise mandated by state or local law or regulations.