Friday at the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales, UK, some of golf’s biggest names will be banned from using Twitter, in an attempt to keep the players’ collective focus on winning one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies.

Stewart Cink, who has more than 1.2 million followers, figures to be hit harder than others by the blackout. Here’s Cink posting what will no doubt be one of his last updates until next Monday:

<![CDATA[.bbpBox25640487597 {background:url(https://s.twimg.com/a/1285137161/images/themes/theme2/bg.gif) #C6E2EE;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}]]>

Graeme McDowell of the European team seemed optimistic this morning that there might be some last-minute reversal:

<![CDATA[.bbpBox25701673131 {background:url(https://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/49246124/gmacrough.jpg) #022330;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}]]>

During the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, there was initial confusion among the athletes as to how social media would be allowed during the Games, but the stance here is much clearer. If the ban stays in place, millions of followers of the participating golfers will feel the pinch of social media silence. A look at each roster, and how many followers will be impacted:

United States

Corey Pavin (captain) – 10,969 followers
Phil Mickleson – Not on Twitter
Hunter Mahan – 14,207
Bubba Watson – 35,875
Jim Furyk – Not on Twitter
Steve Stricker – Not on Twitter
Dustin Johnson – Not on Twitter
Jeff Overton – Not on Twitter
Matt Kuchar – Not on Twitter
Zach Johnson – 15,346
Tiger Woods – 83,173
Stewart Cink – 1,201,240
Rickie Fowler – 30,408

Europe

Colin Montgomerie (captain) – 5,417
Lee Westwood – Not on Twitter
Rory McIlroy – 10,036
Martin Kaymer – Not on Twitter
Graeme McDowell – 16,858
Ian Poulter – 1,007,829
Ross Fisher – Not on Twitter
Francesco Molinari – 1,179
Miguel Ángel Jiménez – Not on Twitter
Peter Hanson – Not on Twitter
Edoardo Molinari – Not on Twitter
Luke Donald – Not on Twitter
Padraig Harrington – Not on Twitter

Photo: Flickr/mandj98, CC

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Authors: Erik Malinowski

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