"It’s not that the show must go on. It’s that the Tour has decided to let it go on."

The above quote belongs to Golf’s Michael Bamberger, who covered the PGA Tour’s return at Colonial. It has prompted a thought, but first, the exchange from the SI roundtable, starting with John Wood, looper extraordinaire for Matt Kuchar this week (71-68=MC).

John Wood, PGA Tour caddie for Matt Kuchar (@Johnwould): Pretty much an A+ across the board. The Tour did a phenomenal job of preparing for each and every eventuality. Testing and safety were the number one priorities, and there were redundancies in place for everything. I couldn’t have been more impressed with their preparation. The players were just excited to be back and playing golf, and seemed to handle all the newness in stride. Once they got inside the ropes, things were the same as always. Shoot the lowest score, win the tournament.  

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): Watching from afar, it sure seemed to go smoothly. And you could sense the genuine excitement of the players to be back out there competing, which helped make up for the lack of fan electricity. There were oddities, of course, with Nantz flying solo in the booth and no gasps or cheers from a gallery, but there are oddities in almost all of our old rituals these days. Whether there were any public hiccups, I guess we won’t know that for certain for a couple of weeks. But from a distance, it looked a whole lot safer than some pool parties I’ve seen on social media.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: It was odd. These are odd times. The Tour is being as responsible as it can be by appearance. It’s obvious that the system is not by any means foolproof. It’s not that the show must go on. It’s that the Tour has decided to let it go on. I think they’ve made the right move. But there is no bubble. Way too many variables.

Obviously Bamberger’s remarks stand out because he supports the return, but is highlighting that “too many variables” remain. This presumably is after a week of seeing players spread about in multiple hotels or other locations in the “bubble”. It also suggests pro golf will have to decide if the variables are worth risking and if organizations not governed by the PGA Tour will accept similar risks: namely, the PGA of America, USGA and Masters, all with majors scheduled in late summer and fall.

As I noted in this Schwab Challenge roundup, the optics of seeing several non-players who work for the PGA Tour not adhering to the safety suggestions so clearly on national TV proved jarring and terribly shortsighted. Bad optics or actual viral spread could easily derail the Tour’s plans, the majors and even the perception that golf is a safe haven. The sport is placing a an excessive amount of trust in the PGA Tour to do the right thing.

How Health Experts Rank Golf With 36 "American activities based on risk"

Adriana Belmonte reports for Yahoo on the classifications of activities in the COVID-19 era. Looks like golf needs to get some of the public experts polled to a golf course when things quiet down. Because equating golf with a museum trip, a hotel stay or even standing in line for groceries seems, well, absurd.

Thanks to reader Steve for sending this, which also included this sobering comment on large gatherings.

Bars, large music concerts, and packed sports stadiums are the riskiest places, according to experts, because of large groups of people congregating together with little room to keep at least six feet apart. 

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, former special advisor for health policy under the Obama administration, previously stated that he doesn’t see larger gatherings – like concerts, conferences, and sporting events — returning until “fall 2021 at the earliest.”

Video: Nantz's Introduction To CBS's Return In Era Of Unrest, COVID-19

As previewed earlier in the week during a CBS conference call, Jim Nantz opened the telecast with some prepared thoughts. Here it is if you missed the telecast.

Jim Nantz 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾wow...powerful! I encourage you to watch this. 🙏🏾 #BLMpic.twitter.com/tas6nGHTr6

— Anthony Calhoun 📺 (@ACwishtv) June 13, 2020

For Your Consideration: Bryson DeChambeau's "Quarantine"

I’m not particularly sure why Bryson DeChambeau chose Day One of the PGA Tour’s return to drop his take on quarantining in the COVID-19 era. But he did. While the length, caused by 13 minutes or so of moody filler, might make you hate “Quarantine”. I see it as a profound insight into the life of a 2020 professional golfer.

Whether it’s the bold decision to convert the garage into a gym, the 12 pieces of bacon for one man in one sitting, the convertible Bentley offering a needed respite from the Fox News viewing at home, or countless other bizarre moments, I promise you will thank me. Sure, it’s 15 minutes you’ll never get back but come on, how often do you get to see an Instagram video in all its almost-Terence Malick self-indulgence? With a side of Bobby Joe Grooves stuffing?

Or you can just read Sean Zak’s highlights here at Golf.com.

Or read about his body work as reported by Rex Hoggard following DeChambeau’s opening 65 (T7).

But live a little! Plus, be thankful you are not Bryson’s next home architect. It already has a name. And he’s wanting to see the limestone in person. And…oh just watch.

View this post on Instagram

Started quarantine feeling a little lost but slowly found ways to connect with things I haven't done in a while, refocused on new business ventures and found a renewed appreciation for the game and fitness. Ready to make the most of this week and what's to come on tour! The wait is over 💪🏼

A post shared by Bryson DeChambeau (@brysondechambeau) on Jun 11, 2020 at 5:21am PDT

Cohesion: McIlroy Suggests More Points Chasing Across Tours

Things I have not heard while the game has been on a COVID-19 break:

“When does the FedExCup chase start again?”

Another: “who is leading the Race to Dubai?”

And you’ll be shocked to learn no one has asked what a late fall finish for the LPGA means for the Race to the CME Globe. But I don’t get out much.

Yet Rory McIlroy mentioned the possibility of tour’s having more “cohesion” post pandemic and possibly leading to a streamlining. It just wasn’t quite the way that will put a many fans in seats unless he thinks this will consolidate schedules and bring top players together more (theoretically it could).

From Doug Ferguson’s AP story:

McIlroy had an idea, just not a solution.

''Whether it's European Tour events offering FedEx Cup points and some PGA Tour events offering Race to Dubai points, I don't know,'' he said. ''But just a little bit more cohesion, and then I think trying to figure out the schedule going forward this year.''

''The major bodies, they're thinking about one or two weeks a year,'' he said. ''And I think speaking to the PGA Tour, speaking to the European Tour, having everyone together and trying to figure this out has definitely opened some people's eyes to what actually goes on and how many moving parts there is. So I think the more that all these bodies can sort of work together for the greater good of game can only be a good thing.''

Well on the latter point, he is certainly correct.

Bamberger Reports From Day One Inside The PGA Tour's "Bubble"

Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger is one of the few regular media members on site at the COVID-19 era’s first fan-free tournament and reports on day one.

The “bubble” at the Charles Schwab Challenge has some durability issues from the outset, starting with Bamberger noting not three, but FOUR hotels inside the player bubble, in addition to may stay in rental houses.

As always with Bamberger you’ll want to read the full thing. But there was this:

Some players and caddies, as they gathered on the 1st tee or 10th tee at the start of a practice round, made no effort to keep six feet apart. Likewise, some players and caddies were handing clubs back-and-forth as they normally would. They’re outside, in a hot wind. Nobody has ever confused tournament golf with meal-distribution at a nursing home. Around the clubhouse, in the club’s traditional milling areas, there was one instructor wearing his mask around his left upper arm, like an old-school USGA arm bandage. A few caddies wore them. The players did not.

Sigh....What's Going On At (Still Closed) Yale GC?

Joseph Morelli reports on the suspicious (continued) closure of America’s No. 1 college course due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given how the university has neglected the course through the years, it’s hardly a surprise to see more odd events taking place. Currently, the course is closed through the end of July.

Worse, Yale’s longtime superintendent and head pro have recently moved on to greener pastures. While this is a first world matter in the most first-world way, Yale GC offers the best course at the most affordable membership in a state not known for great or affordable golf.

Morelli writes:

The Yale Golf Course will remain closed through at least the end of July, according to the course’s website and correspondence sent to the course members last week.

“As COVID-19 guidelines regarding the opening of facilities at Yale University are established, the Yale Golf Course will remain closed through July 31, 2020. We will provide an update as soon as additional information becomes available to us. Should the Yale Golf Course re-open after July 31, detailed information on policies and procedures for golfers coming to play will be provided,” the course’s website reads.

The story goes on to try and unravel why the course remains closed while others in the area have reopened.

Thanks to Anthony Pioppi for highlighting this story and also for checking in on the course, which, contrary to the claim of one person in Morelli’s story, still is getting its fairways mown.

I’m here. Green, tees, fairways mowed. Rough has not been touched in a while. #18. pic.twitter.com/Ii4pN9wSxK

— Anthony Pioppi (@AnthonyPioppi) June 6, 2020

Why Was Zika A Non-Starter For Some Golfers But Not COVID-19?

That’s the question Dave Seanor asks at MorningRead.com as players are going to be locking up their field spot officially for next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

You may recall that several top players passed on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, concerned they might bring back the virus to their loved ones. Players like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth all expressed worries about health in passing up golf’s return to the Games.

All four are entered for the Colonial return. This, as testing increased in Texas by 31% while the number of confirmed infections rose by 51%.

Seanor makes several strong points about the “credulity” strain of arguments in 2016 versus now and says it is “mind-boggling that more Tour members haven’t questioned the wisdom of going back to work so soon.”

He writes:

What changed? Is the health of their families no longer a priority? Do they have that much trust that the Tour can protect them, and everyone affiliated with the tournament, from exposure to a virus that has infected more than 1.8 million Americans and has yet to plateau – indeed, has increased – in some parts of the country? Or was their expressed concern about Zika, as widely suspected, just a convenient smokescreen to hide their lack of enthusiasm for the Olympics?

We certainly know issues surrounding the Olympics and enthusiasm played a role, as did the travel distance. But given the threat posed by Zika (2400 U.S. cases, one death), the current situation does seem significantly more concerning.

Sanford Health Becomes "Official COVID-19 On-Site Testing Provider Of The PGA Tour"

Look, these are not normal times but as uncomforable as it is to read a company agreeing to be the Official COVID-19 On-site Testing Provider Of The PGA Tour, I’m not sure this got enough play: the PGA Tour’s events will have on-site testing and results determined on site. This, instead of adding to local lab burdens, not only provides infinitely more consistency in the Tour’s ambitious screening protocals, but also reduces the uncertainty of what will happen with golf played in so many different cities.

It’s just a shame the screening with Sanford Health testing does not extend to a good number of others on-site at the first four Tour starts beginning next week. But, one step at a time.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR collaborates with Sanford Health  to conduct COVID-19 testing at tournaments

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today that it has engaged Sanford Health to conduct on-site COVID-19 testing of players, caddies and essential personnel at PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Korn Ferry Tour tournaments in the continental United States for the remainder of the season. 

Starting with next week’s resumption of the PGA TOUR schedule at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, testing will be conducted by lab technicians who will be traveling to tournaments in one of three mobile testing units that Sanford Health is deploying across the country. Each unit, which will be manned by a driver and three technicians, will arrive the Saturday prior to the tournament to begin processing RT PCR tests. The mobile unit will remain on site through Thursday before traveling to the next closest tournament site, regardless of Tour. 

“With health and safety being our No. 1 priority upon our return to competition, we are extremely pleased to partner with Sanford Health and to utilize their expertise in testing our players, caddies and personnel going forward,” said Andy Levinson, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President Tournament Administration. “Not only will Sanford Health’s mobile laboratories enable us to deliver test results in a matter of hours so that our athletes can properly prepare for competition, but they will also allow us to implement our testing program without utilizing critical resources from the communities in which we play, which was of upmost importance to us.”  

Each swab collection takes less than five minutes to administer, and test results are returned typically between two and four hours, with approximately 400 individuals expected to be tested on-site each week.

“Sanford Health is honored to help ensure a safe return to play for professional golf events in the United States by offering this testing,” said Micah Aberson, Executive Vice President of Sanford Health. “We are incredibly proud of our lab technicians who will represent us at these events as well as all of our health care workers who have gone above and beyond to protect and care for our patients.”

Sanford Health also becomes a marketing partner with the designation Official COVID-19 On-site Testing Provider of the PGA TOUR. It already has an established relationship with the TOUR as title sponsor of the Sanford International, a PGA TOUR Champions event in Sioux Falls scheduled for Sept. 11-13.

Troubled Times Prompt Golf Digest Pledge To Better Reflect The Game, Society

Golf Digest Executive Editor Jerry Tarde penned an intriguing piece outlining the magazine’s intent to “accelerate golf’s journey of understanding” on a number of issues at the forefront. After a nice setup detailing the sport’s history with race and inequality issues, Tarde outlines the pledges:

—We at Golf Digest will commit to making the images and subjects of our golf content as well as our staff better reflect the diversity of the world around us. Both the game’s population and our own record here have been inadequate.

—We will continue to advocate for more access and affordability.

Continue, start, either would be great!

—We will increase our coverage of municipal golf—the lifeblood for attracting minority participation.

—We will support the golf industry’s collective efforts through The First Tee, in which 48 percent of participants represent minorities.

—We will promote sustainability in all its forms, because we know the ravages of climate change hit the poor and minorities the hardest.

—And we golfers promise to use our voice and influence to make gentle the life of this world.

Obviously this is a wonderful goal and a welcome pivot. Unfortunately, it’s way too late.

For decades Golf Digest has supported ideals contrary to the values pledged above. In repeatedly rewarding difficult, expensive, ridiculously-conditioned and ultra-private golf via the influential Golf Digest rankings and awards for a solid forty years, untold damage has been done to the sustainability prospects of the game.

Decades of editorial apathy and even hostility to the notion of equipment regulation or those taking stance with sustainability in mind has been partly driven by protecting commercial interests. The resulting expansion of golf’s scale, cost and environmental footprint has not made the game healthier.

The bad news for Golf Digest? Advocacy efforts highlighting the need to move in a different direction have been taken up by a variety of independent outlets that recognized long ago who had the game’s best interests at heart.

PGA Tour's Return To Golf Does Not Require A Home COVID-19 Test

In reading how the USTA is going to great lengths to envision a way to play the 2020 U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, it was understandable to see that tennis’ best would be required to test negative for COVID-19 before getting on a plane.

So it was a bit surprising to see such a stipulation was not required in golf’s return given how players are coming from many regions and using different means of travel to Colonial June 8-14.

This is from Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com story on the “Player Participant Guide” sent to players in advance of next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge:

Most notable among the guidelines is that while COVID-19 testing is a condition of competition, the at-home test players and caddies take before traveling is not required but rather “strongly encouraged.” Also, should a player or caddie test positive while at a tournament, they’ll receive a stipend from the Tour to cover associated costs, but only if they have taken the at-home test and tested negative. Players are, however, required to fill out daily self-screening questionnaires starting seven days prior to departing for a tournament.

“The at-home test is intended to help players avoid the unlikely situation of testing positive and be required to quarantine away from home,” said Joel Schuchmann, PGA Tour VP of communiations, when reached by Golf Digest.

So the PGA Tour’s view is that the pre-tournament test is one to prevent an inconvenient stranding, but if safety of players and those around them was the ultimate priority, I would think an all-clear test before traveling was one of the most important steps.

This hole in the “bubble” is one of several—media and spouses/partners/companions who choose to travel and stay with players are not mentioned in any of the documents as part of the testing bubble. This, combined with not requiring an all-clear test after three months away from the Tour, explains why the word “screening” has been used to date.

Seeing the description in the player resource guide only makes it that much more confounding to start the bubble arrival knowing all have already been cleared to travel to Colonial:

If only it were that convenient for the rest of the world to get a test. I digress.

The other noticeable loophole involves players being able to stay in a rental home, RV or at the “bubble” hotel with a companion not allowed at the course, but also free to roam the host city or anywhere but the golf course.

NY Post: "NYC golf courses devastated by continued coronavirus shutdown"

While most Americans and the world are safely returning to golf—97% of U.S. courses according to National Golf Foundation surveys—the situation in New York is less rosy for golfers. In the New York city area, Mark Cannizzaro reports on the 13 courses in the five burroughs remaining closed.

“It’s devastating,’’ Rich McDonough, the director of golf at Marine Park in Brooklyn, told The Post on Friday. “You’re talking about multi-million-dollars-a-year businesses that have absolutely no ability to operate, and there’s no reason whatsoever why they’re not open.’’

Mike Giordano, who operates Marine Park as the concessionaire, said he “thought initially it was going to end in a couple weeks, then it became a month now we’re into our third month.’’
“This could be a death blow to us,’’ Giordano told The Post. “Nobody has unlimited funds. You exhaust your funds as the clock keeps ticking.’’

Giordano said he’s spending $100,000 per month to maintain the golf course with no revenue coming in and — most appallingly — no communication from City Hall.

Upstate, Sal Maiorana, James Johnson and Brodie Inguaggiato, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle look at how recreational pursuits were faring and focused on the troubles of golf courses dealing with mass food and beverage cancellations, and tee-time spacing.

Clearly, the food and beverage end of the golf business is suffering, but so, too, is the actual playing of the game.

Edmister said Blue Heron Hills had a flurry of early play in March thanks to unusually cooperative weather, and when the one-week, state-mandated shutdown of golf facilities was lifted in early April, the golfers were back out playing, but certainly not at the numbers you’d typically see.

The continued guidelines imposed by the state on social distancing, the prohibition of cart use, which has only recently been lifted — along with the fact that some people simply aren’t comfortable leaving their homes yet — have cut deeply into the bottom line. 

“The PGA of America is recommending 10- to 15-minute intervals for tee times,” Edmister said. “That hurts you at the end of the day when you might have 80 tee times and now you’re down to 40.”

In contrast, reader Gary sent me this note today, which mirrors what I’ve been seeing on social media and in conversations with golfers who have been out playing.

I live in Nassau County, Long Island and play at the public county course (Eisenhower Park. The county guidelines have tee times split 16 minutes apart. Golf is so much more enjoyable this way as the pace of play has been reduces by about 30-40 minutes. While I understand that the economics of this reduces revenue, the enjoyability factor is much greater.

Euro Tour Chief Pelley Shoots Down Bankruptcy Suggestions, Discussess Sponsor Conversations

There were quite a few tidbits from Martin Dempster’s Scotsman story quoting European Tour Chief Keith Pelley that I didn’t see elsewhere and are worth noting.

He directly addressed any rumors of bankruptcy or insolvency, the government’s stance on potential 14-day quarantining come July, and conversations with sponsors.

In particular, related to the European Tour’s plan to distribute £500,000 between charities local to the tournament venues and those chose by leading players, he explained his pitch to sponsors.

“I had a conversation with one of our key partners about two or three weeks ago, and I said, ‘listen, this might not be the biggest event that you have ever done in terms of crowds and hospitality, but it will be the most important event, and it should be the most emotional event’. We are looking at golf as a platform; as a platform to give back, and we are privileged to be able to play. We think that golf is something that we have trumpeted to the government is a perfect sport to come back with.”

Korn Ferry WD: Vijay Reads The Room

Since there are far more pressing issues in the world, a special thank you to Vijay Singh for withdrawing from the Korn Ferry Tour’s return event set for June 11th at TPC Sawgrass.

Though it could also be that market forces pushing the 57-year-old out of the field, as Joel Beall notes for GolfDigest.com.

Though Singh did pull out voluntarily, there was a chance, according to the KFT priority rankings, he wouldn’t have ultimately qualified for the event, which begins on June 11 at Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Singh is fourth on the PGA Tour’s all time money list with $81.3 million in winnings (FedExCup included).

European Tour Chief On Players Wearing Wireless Mics Upon Return: "This is the time for us to do some things completely differently."

in rolling out a revamped UK cluster of tournaments and a # campaign centered around European Tour events giving back, Chief Keith Pelley also suggested the times are expediting initiatives to improve their television product.

From Iain Carter’s BBC report on wider implementation of wireless microphones on players.

"People said when we started doing in-round interviews that it'll never work," Pelley added.

"Now they are a key component of our broadcast. To get an insight into the mind of a professional golfer during the actual moment of deciding whether he is going to hit a five or six iron is fantastic."

Pelley expects players to agree to the move and points out that none will lose European Tour cards at the end of this truncated season. "That reduces the pressure," he said.

"Once you've actually had a wireless mic on in competition and it hasn't affected you in any such way - technology has come so far that it is really, really small and won't disturb your swing - then it just becomes commonplace and a way of life."