The quality of play wasn’t impacted by a little rust, that’s for sure. It’s going to take some time for players, caddies and officials to get used to social distancing, but even though there were no fans, there were still fans.
Golf made its return this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Was it different? Yes. There were no fans, and social distancing measures were in place following a 91-day layoff because of the coronavirus pandemic. Was it the same? Well… yes. The best players in the world still played like the best players in the world. Daniel Berger outlasted a loaded field that featured 16 of the top 20 players in the world.
What were our biggest takeaways from the first week back? What do we expect going forward? We asked Todd Archer, our on-site reporter this week at Colonial Country Club, and some of our watching-from-home golf experts to weigh in:
Todd Archer: I’m coming at this from a football perspective as our Dallas Cowboys reporter, so bear with me, but these guys are good. After a three-month layoff, golfers thought there would be some rust. Yes, some were rusty, but the quality of play did not seem to suffer. The play down the stretch wasn’t perfect, but it certainly was exciting, even if it wasn’t Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy leading the way. Given the lack of live sports since March, the drama has to mean something. The more they play, the better they should get, so if they can continue to avoid issues with the coronavirus, the rest of the season could be special.
Bob Harig: Golf can do this. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, a sport that inherently has distancing and is not played with a shared ball can proceed in these unusual times. This was an excellent first tournament back, and tweaks can continue to be made to assure a safe environment with a competitive atmosphere.
Michael Collins: Golf doesn’t need fans for drama. Golfers don’t need to be miked up with no fans; just keep the on-course mics on, and we’ll hear everything just fine. It started with a Brooks Koepka F-bomb, which, let’s be honest, is just what everyone was hoping for. It looks like the sky didn’t fall. I won’t say I told you so, but…
Nick Pietruszkiewicz: Social distancing is going to be harder than we thought in golf. The general consensus was that this is an outdoor sport, so it’ll be pretty easy. Maybe for you and me during a casual round, but not so much for Tour players with a ton at stake. The players handed their clubs back to their caddies over and over; that was supposed to be a no-no. Rules officials got pretty close without wearing masks. Fist bumps happened regularly. Overall, this week proved that golf was ready. It should be back. But some of the adjustments are going to take longer than we think.
Archer: How can it be anything except having no fans in attendance? Imagine what the scene on Sunday would have looked like with the playoff between Daniel Berger and Collin Morikawa if they played No.18 with fans ringing the fairway and the clubhouse balcony packed. Imagine the roars over the big shots that led to a playoff or the groans over missed short putts, such as the one that cost Morikawa from extending the day to a second playoff hole.
