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When Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell directed all golf courses to pause operations on April 1 in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Ko Olina Golf Club had already been closed for more than a week.

“Our first priority, as is everybody’s, is to the health and safety of our employees and our guests,” Greg Nichols, general manager and director of golf at Ko Olina Golf Club, told Pacific Business News. “We joined our resort partners who also took that same stance in [closing]. We just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

Ko Olina Golf Club has tentatively planned to re-open on May 1, but Nichols said that they are re-evaluating that on a weekly basis.

In the interim period, Ko Olina Golf Club is preparing to re-open by maintaining its facility and staying in touch with customers.

“We remain hopeful and optimistic. We hope everyone during this time can stay healthy and well, and we can’t wait to see them back...

Paul Azinger is a PGA champion long known as someone who says what he thinks, usually with some degree of clarity, which makes him a good fit as a TV analyst. And that’s what he does now for NBC and at the U.S. Open for Fox.

He could have started much sooner if not for 20 years ago at the Sony Open.

Azinger and NBC host Dan Hicks are working their second straight week for Golf Channel’s telecast of the Hawaii swing. This week brings back strong memories for Azinger, who won the Sony Open in 2000 for his first victory since his recovery from lymphoma, and what turned out to be the last victory of his career.