Big guns back at Fort Worth.. but not with a bang
A FAMOUS venue and a stacked field will herald the PGA Tour’s return this week as golf stares at a new normal in Texas.
Colonial will host the Charles Schwab Challenge and it’s sure to be a surreal experience as players prepare for their first socially-distanced swing in Fort Worth.
With no galleries attending, it’ll be the quietest competitive golf since last year’s Zozo Championship, when flash flooding forced a behind closed doors second round in Japan.
Eight months later, memories of those 18 holes in relative silence in Inzai might be something players tap into this week.
Atmosphere plus the ebb and flow of spectators often fuels a performance and there’ll be a distinct lack of that buzz this week.
No crowds to help you find your ball.
No grandstands to help define the shape and target of a hole.
No coaches to fine tune your game.
It will be like a throwback to amateur days when players have to perform in the moment and in their own bubble.
A greater responsibility will fall on individuals, they’ll have more autonomy on the outcome. How they cope with that shift in dynamic will be key.
Top players usually boast the strongest belief systems and that will ring even truer in the weeks ahead. Those voices inside your head are tougher to shackle in silence.
I’m delighted to see golf back on our screens, although it comes in the midst of widespread social unrest and a global pandemic.
The threat of the coronavirus remains front and centre in the States and the recent Covid-19 statistics coming out of parts of Texas are concerning.
Tarrant County – home of Colonial Country Club – endured a spike last week and 219 new cases were reported earlier this week.
Golf will struggle for prominence in such a turbulent news cycle, but hopefully the Charles Schwab offers a brief shard of light in troubling times.
It will be fascinating to see where players are, mentally and physically, after lockdown. Some might return with different body shapes, others will better attitudes
The elephant in the room is whether the PGA can fulfil its new schedule, although the Tour has a history of ensuring
A strong field will be aiming to take crown from Kevin Na
its star names understand their wider responsibilities.
It’s definitely a positive sign that the world’s top five and 17 of the Fedex Cup top-20 will tee it up, with the strongest field in recent memory bidding to take Kevin Na’s crown.
World No1 Rory Mcilroy, who has committed to playing the first three events of the reshaped rota, is the headline act in Texas.
Colonial will be eerily quiet, but Rory, Rahm, Koepka and company will be delighted to be back out there again.
Three months after the PGA Tour’s last shot in anger, the world’s top players will be eager to make some noise of their own in Fort Worth.