WASHINGTON — The Senior PGA Championship this week in Loudoun County, Virginia, could lead to traffic delays for spectators as well as people trying to get around it.
The tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling is one of the senior tour’s five majors. It could lead to extra shuttle buses and other traffic along some parts of Virginia Route 7 near Sugarland Crossing, much of Algonkian Parkway and potentially stretches of the Fairfax County Parkway or Virginia Route 28.
The course is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, the pro-am tournament is expected to run 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in a shotgun start format (groups tee off on each hole), with practice rounds in the afternoon. On Wednesday, practice rounds run the entire day whenever players choose to start.
During the first two rounds of the official event Thursday and Friday, the course is expected to be open 6:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The first tee times Thursday and Friday are at 7 a.m. on the first hole and 7:15 a.m. on the 11th hole. The latest tee times are 2:05 p.m. on the first tee and 2:20 p.m. on the 11th.
After the cut, the gates are due to be open 6:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday, the tournament expects players to tee off between 6:40 and 11:45 a.m. On Sunday, tee times are projected to be between 7:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m.
On all days, fans need a ticket to enter. With each adult ticket, up to four children 17 and younger can get free admission at the ticket office near the main entrance. The tournament also has complimentary admission for active duty, retired and reserve members of the military, who can pick up the tickets at the main entrance with a valid service-related ID.
Getting around
The tournament offers shuttle buses from the purple economy parking lot at Dulles International Airport. Parking at the airport will be free, and drivers are allowed to use the Dulles Access Road to reach the parking lot. Signs at the airport will tournament direct spectators to the designated parking area.
The golf shuttle buses run 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 6:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
From Tuesday through Sunday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office will limit traffic in the Lowes Island Area. Neighborhood parking will be limited to those in the homeowners associations there.
Only local traffic will be allowed into the area immediately around the entrance to the golf club, and that access will only be through the intersections of Lowes Island Boulevard and Colonel Young Way and Lowes Island Boulevard at Tappahannock Place.
To enter at those intersections, drivers will have to show tags provided by the homeowners association or government-issued identification with a local address, the sheriff’s office said.
There will be separate extra traffic control around schools in the area and at the intersections of Lowes Island Boulevard and Algonkian Parkway and Whitewater Drive and Algonkian Parkway, along with no-parking signs posted on a number of streets near the golf club.
What not to bring
Cameras are only allowed on the course on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cell phones can be brought to the course, but must be kept on silent; smartphone camera flashes are not allowed at any time.
During the tournament itself Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, fans are not permitted to take photos or video near the course. Phone calls are only permitted if fans are at least 100 yards away from the course.
Fans are not allowed to bring: any backpacks or drawstring bags; any bag larger than 10 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches; laptops or tablets; drones; laser pointers; selfie sticks; weapons of any kind, including pocket knives; milk crates or step stools; banners or signs; coolers; bicycles; golf clubs; food; or alcohol.
Each fan is permitted to bring one unopened bottle of water. Also, while folding canvas chairs are allowed, “oversized chairs with wide arm rests” are not permitted, tournament officials said.
