Stop-start US pro golf season prepares for second chapter

From the PGA Tour

In the deserts of Arizona, the final days of January 2020 revolved around the Waste Management Phoenix Open pro golf festivities.

Red numbers dotted the scoreboard, roars arose from the famed 16th hole and marquee athletes entertained the masses.

It was the 16th tournament of a 2019-20 season five months old and already wildly successful. Tiger Woods had won at the Zozo Championship, pulling even with Sam Snead for most wins in PGA Tour history.

Justin Thomas had been victorious twice, too, and Rory McIlroy had triumphed in China and was on the verge of returning to world no. 1 status.

Ominous signs

At same time, reports told of the spread of a corona-virus.

The WHO suggested countries prepare for “containment” and “isolation,” though US federal, state, local governments fell short of insisting on what health experts were advertising as “social distancing.”

By the time Webb Simpson beat Tony Finau in a playoff on February 2, the celebration at TPC Scottsdale had once again been a smash hit.

If golf was on the same planet as the corona-virus, it was news to everyone. After all, there were only seven confirmed cases in the US out of a population of 331 million.

Less than six weeks later there it would all change and the Tour faced a stark reality.

It had to shut down.

The pandemic came in an invisible wave at a time when the sport was kicking off a stretch of marquee events, starting with the Players Championship.

But there was unease in the air. Eighteen US deaths had been attributed to COVID-19 by that point, with more than 1,200 reported cases.

In the dark

Compounding the concern was the medical reality that no one knew much about this virus and questions far outnumbered answers.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan talked about preparedness. Hot areas of COVID-19 were sparse; sports in America were still on, and so officials left TPC Sawgrass on March 11 with anticipation of a brilliant competition.

Before they went to bed that evening though, the picture had changed. A National Basketball Association player tested positive for COVID-19, and for those who follow sports there was reason to worry.

Thursday arrived with ideal weather and arguably the largest first-round crowd in tournament history. Fans watched Hideki Matsuyama shoot a 9-under 63, but it wasn’t possible for Monahan to enjoy the action.

Instead, it was a day spent monitoring proceedings elsewhere. The NBA suspended its season, as did the National Hockey League and Nascar. Major League Baseball said it would not start its season that month.

Even as large galleries watched the first round, Monahan and his team made the decision to play the event without spectators.

“Both the White House and the (Florida) Governor’s office have been, and are, supportive of the precautionary measures we have taken to this point,” said the commissioner that Thursday.

“But,” he added, “it’s important to note that that could change.”

Unthinkable step

About eight hours later, it did, too, in a most unthinkable way. The Tour cancelled the Players.

What happened from mid-day to late evening? Enough players voiced concern, said Monahan, “and that’s something we took very seriously.”

“This is the biggest event of the year for us,” he said on March 13. “But even though we feel like we have a safe environment and we’ve done all the right things, we can’t proceed and it’s not right to proceed.”

If the shutdown came with a numbing swiftness, the task of restoring sense to the golf landscape was going to be exceedingly slow. Monahan is a man of patience and reason, and he used those assets as the dominoes fell.

First, the cancellation of the Players extended to the next three tournaments.

Then came an announcement that caught everyone’s attention — the Masters would be postponed from its annual April date.

The Tour cancelled four additional events, and when the PGA of America said it would postpone the PGA Championship, it meant golf was gone through at least May 17.

Upbeat mood

Monahan remained upbeat and players embraced that confidence.

“Postponed is a comforting word,” said Xander Schauffele. “As long as it says, ‘postponed,’ I think the players will find hope.”

First, there was a hurdle to navigate. The global professional golf bodies —the Masters, the US Golf Association, the PGA of America, the R&A, the LPGA — needed to be brought together and Monahan was at the forefront of the discussions.

On April 6, the organizations made a significant joint announcement. The PGA Championship would be played in August, the US Open in September, the Masters in November and The Open Championship cancelled.

Less than two weeks later it was revealed that the Tour would return on June 11 with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.

Heavy schedule

There will be 14 tournaments over a 13-week period, culminating with three consecutive FedEx Cup playoffs: The Northern Trust, Aug. 20-23; the BMW Championship, Aug. 27-30, and the Tour Championship Sept. 4-7.

A 36-tournament schedule had been salvaged, 10 others called off, a handful forced to change their dates and everybody’s lives affected.

Between the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 8 and the first round of this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, it will have been 94 days of a golf shutdown if unprecedented obstacles and uncertainty.

But tireless conversations with health officials and government leaders enabled a testing plan to lend a layer of confidence.

With everything in place, it has since been a matter of waiting for the Charles Schwab Challenge week to arrive.

Also read: It’s official: PGA Tour splits season into 2019-20, and 2020 fall sections