PGA adapts to new normal
FedEx Cup playoffs return to TPC Boston in three weeks
Seven weeks since returning to the golf course, PGA Tour players are finding a new routine as they go through the necessary COVID-19 testing and adapting to what it is like without fans out there.
But as players prepare for this week’s WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee, it begins a stretch where the stakes will be higher. There are 10% more FedEx Cup points up for grabs this week than most weeks because it is a WGC event and it will be followed by the first major of the year with the PGA Championship, which was supposed to be held in May, being contested in San Francisco at Harding Park.
Two weeks later, the PGA Tour makes its return to the Boston area Aug. 20-23 as The Northern Trust at TPC Boston in Norton starts the FedEx Cup playoffs. Golf’s return to Massachusetts in nearly two years will also be played without spectators.
“It’s coming thick and fast,” Rory McIlroy said of the schedule. “We’ve got this week, obviously, which is a huge event and a lot of points on the line. Obviously, PGA next week, a major, the first major of the year, which sounds sort of weird, then the three playoff events.
“It’s busy. This is the time to play well. I feel fortunate I had that good stretch of golf before everything shut down and I’ve been able to sort of hold my position in the FedEx Cup and obviously a huge incentive the next few weeks is getting myself in position for (the Tour Championship at) East Lake and obviously trying to go back-to-back.”
While not having the crowd noise at an event like last week’s 3M Open is one thing, not having them at a major or a playoff event will also take some getting use to.
“It’s not going to have as much of a major-like feel because of not having fans, so that’s something that’s going to be drastically different,” said FedEx Cup leader Justin Thomas. “But in terms of a golf course setup and everything else, it will still be very major-like, I’m sure, so we’re all going to experience the same thing.”
The PGA Tour previously announced that spectators would not be allowed at any event through the end of the season. On Wednesday, the USGA said that spectators will not be allowed at Winged Foot for the U.S. Open, which was moved from its tradition spot in June to September.
The Masters remains hopeful to have spectators on site in November while the British Open was canceled for the year.
Not having those fans in the gallery has homogenized the product.
“I think all these tournaments are created by their atmosphere and every one is a different feel, and every tournament since coming back off the lockdown has felt the same,” said McIlroy, who won in Norton in 2012 and 2016. “Whether it’s the Colonial
or the Travelers Championship or the Memorial or whatever it’s been. It’s the people and the atmosphere, that’s what makes a tournament and when you don’t have that there’s nothing really to differentiate themselves.
“Obviously, the courses are different, the setups are a little different, but at the end of the day it’s all sort of the same.”
While a “mashed potatoes” from the crowd or someone moving near a tee box or green may annoy some players, by and large, the roar of the crowd is something players feed off on a weekly basis.
“I think noise helps guys,” said Webb Simpson, who is second in the FedEx Cup standings and won the second event after play resumed in June at Harbour Town for his second win of the season and won at TPC Boston in 2011. “I think if you’re not playing great, momentum you might gain from making a 30-footer helps you if you’re a couple over. Or if you’re in contention, you’re one back or one up and you make a 20footer on 14, you’re going to hear the crowd get really excited. I’ve been in contention a couple times without fans and I miss that, for sure.”
Testing is something the players are also getting accustomed to and making it a part of their routine.
“Every time I travel to a new site Monday, I want to arrive before 5 (p.m.) so I can get my test done, and then Tuesday and Wednesday I don’t have to think about it,” said Jon Rahm, the No. 1 golfer in the world rankings. “The test, I wouldn’t say gets any easier itself. Still feels really intrusive. And yeah, you can’t get used to that feel of the swab in your nose, but it’s what we’ve got to do.
“We’re lucky we can have a process like we do every single week traveling the world, right. So I think we all should be thankful and blessed we’re playing right now and we get to resume our season. Hopefully, if somebody’s not used to it yet, hopefully they’ll get used to it quick because I feel like this protocol is going to be here for a long time. I don’t mind it at this point. Like I said, I always started with the base of being really thankful that we’re playing golf. So I welcome it. It’s what we’re supposed to do and that’s where our reality is right now.”
McIlroy said he feels safe inside the bubble, but is not so sure when fans should be able to return.
“Whether it’s a vaccination or whether it’s something happens where there’s a breakthrough and we know a little bit more about what’s going on in the virus, but I probably can’t give you a definitive answer when I’d be comfortable with crowds again.”
While the Miami Marlins have already been shut down for a week because of coronavirus less than a week into the season, the PGA Tour has had few problems with seven players and two caddies testing positive while some others, including Simpson, have voluntarily withdrawn from tournaments if they have been around someone who tested positive.
Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell each withdrew from The Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, last month when their caddies tested positive.
Provided he does not test positive leading up to the start of the playoffs, Thomas is looking forward for the PGA Tour returning to TPC Boston, where he used a victory in 2017 to help win the FedEx Cup title.
“I’m excited that anytime you go to a place you’ve won, it’s a good feeling and you obviously have good vibes,” the Red Sox fan said. “I love that area, the course is fun. It’s very dependent on what the weather’s been like and how firm and how fast it is, but hopefully we’ve had some good weather up there where they can get it a little more burnt out to play firm, play fast. It’s a place where you can make some birdies and you’re going to have to play well. I have a couple tournaments to get through before we get there, but once we get there, we’ll see what we can do.”