Big names tee it up at Colonial in PGA’s return

The PGA Tour returns Thursday after three months away, and some of its biggest stars are ready to play. The 148-man field for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, features the top five players in the world — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.

The biggest name — Tiger Woods — chose not to play. Woods only has played Colonial once, in 1997.

The tour shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of sports, after the opening round of

The Players Championship March 12 in Florida.

The return requires players to be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival and, for those taking a charter to the next tournament at Hilton Head, S.C., another test before they leave. They also will undergo thermal readings and answer health questionnaires daily. Caddies and essential personnel will do the same.

The Colonial features 18 of the top 25 in the world, giving it a strength-of-field comparable to a World Golf Championships event.

The only players from the top 10 who are not playing are Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood. Scott and Fleetwood live overseas and would have faced a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

Cantlay has played Colonial only twice, including his rookie year in 2013 when he first felt a jolt of pain in his back that kept him out of golf for nearly three years.

The tour will play, if all goes according to plan, a full schedule for the rest of the year. Colonial marks the first of 27 tournaments over a 26week period through Dec. 6.

— The Associated Press