San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
KORN FERRY
sky ahead of the pack at 19under, in position to earn his first Korn Ferry Tour win in today’s final round.
He walked off the course Saturday to no fanfare, exchanging socially distanced pleasantries with his caddie and the other golfers in his group.
“It’s super laid-back,” Lipsky said. “You don’t get the cheers or the fans, which sort of energizes you a little bit, but it’s been all right. A little bit weird. A little bit off-putting at first, but all the guys have gotten used to it.”
Lipsky holds a one-shot lead over Paul Barjon, who said he had no idea through the day that Lipsky was playing so well in the group two ahead of his own.
Usually, Barjon has a sense of the field by checking the leaderboard or hearing the buzz of the crowd. Without any of the usual indicators this week, Barjon said he’s focused on staying in the moment and then, “at the end of the day, sign the card.”
“You just don’t really know what’s happening,” Barjon said. “You show up on 18, there’s not necessarily anybody, so you don’t know if you’re playing good or bad. Or, there could be some players who are playing really good in front of you, and you don’t really know. It’s a little different, but it feels like you’re practicing at home.”
With the tournament field reduced to 67 before Saturday’s round, tee times were condensed. Groups of three started on the front and back nine in 11-minute intervals from 7:30 a.m. to 9:31 a.m.
Tee times during the first two days of competition were split into morning and afternoon groups, starting at 7:30 a.m. and finishing as late as 2:40 p.m.
On Thursday and Friday, the practice areas for driving, chipping and putting were bustling with players and coaches looking for extra work before or after their rounds. But on Saturday, once most of the field was on the course, those areas featured only about a half-dozen players.
By the first hour of the afternoon, with most of the players yet to complete their round, the first tee was void of players, volunteers or staff, leaving few signs that a professional tournament was in progress a few holes ahead.
“It’s the new normal now,” said Taylor Pendrith,
who’s third at 15-under. “Coming back and having no spectators and a bunch of restrictions, obviously things have changed a lot, and I think it’ll be the new norm for the rest of the year, at least.”
The heat also was a factor, with temperatures peaking at 103 degrees.
Barjon said he tried to walk slower to conserve energy, lingering in shady areas as often as possible. Players brought snacks onto the course, and Pendrith said he “drank a bottle of water each hole.”
“And I’m probably still dehydrated,” Pendrith said. “You just have to keep drinking and eating to keep your energy up.”
Roberto Diaz, who has competed in past two Valero Texas Open events at TPC San Antonio, said the atmosphere this week has been significantly different than usual.
The Canyons course has become very familiar to Diaz, who said he’s lived in San Antonio the past two years. Playing so close to home, Diaz said he felt unusual coming off the course after a round like Friday’s 64 without anyone around to congratulate him. Still, as he enters the final round at 11-under, he said he’s happy to have pro golf back in the Alamo City.
This year’s Valero Texas Open was canceled as a result of the pandemic, making 2020 the first year without a PGA Tour event in San Antonio since 1971. The Texas Open is the oldest tournament to be held in the same city through its existence, with 89 events in San Antonio since 1922.
Even without the usual pageantry, the TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons and next week’s TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks are giving the city a footprint in professional golf in 2020.
“I think it’s great,” Diaz said. “With this virus, we needed something going so people can get a little bit of hope.”