DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — The PGA Tour has been back for five weeks and already has delivered a tournament scoring record one week, a former No. 1 winning another week, two sudden-death playoffs and a player who grew by two shirt sizes to try to change the game.
DUBLIN, Ohio — The PGA Tour has been back for five weeks and already has delivered a tournament scoring record one week, a former No.1 winning another week, two sudden-death playoffs and a player who grew by two shirt sizes to try to change the game.
And it still felt as though something was missing.
Or someone.
That changed a few minutes past 7 a.m. Tuesday when Tiger Woods pulled his courtesy car into the parking lot at Muirfield Village, changed his shoes and began preparations for his first PGA Tour event in five months.
He was wearing a mask.
The return of Woods is not the return to normal, except for those watching on television.
Woods had an idea of what to expect from seeing empty golf courses at Colonial and Harbour Town and even last week at Muirfield Village. He has heard from friends on tour how eerie it is with no fans, no cheering.
“It’s a very different world out here not to have the distractions, the noise, the excitement, the energy that the fans bring,” Woods said. “It’s just a silent and different world.”
And it’s going to stay that way.
The PGA Tour returned June 11, and the Memorial was supposed to be the first tournament with fans, at 20% capacity, until coronavirus cases began to spike and the prudent action was to play it safe. The “Nicklaus Club” hospitality tent is still to the right of the 16th tee. A small grandstand overlooks the 18th green. There wasn’t time to dismantle them.
Four more tournaments announced Monday they won’t have spectators, all the way through the Tour Championship to end the FedEx Cup season.
