Mcllroy, Rahm head strong field

World No 1 Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm of Spain will highlight a strong field in Fort Worth, Texas, this week as the PGA Tour returns from a threemonth break due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Americans Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas will also tee it up on Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club course.

The 148-player Fort Worth field also includes world No 3 Brooks Koepka, defending champion Kevin Na and Phil Mickelson.

One major change is that organisers are not allowing any spectators at the event, which runs until June 14.

The PGA Tour cancelled 11 tournaments during its shutdown, and revised its remaining schedule.

The first five events of the restart, including the Charles Schwab, will be played without spectators.

The first tournament to have fans will be The Memorial, from July 16-19 in Dublin, Ohio.

After the Charles Schwab, the PGA Tour will feature the RBC Heritage (June 18-21) in Hilton Head, South Carolina; the Travelers Championship (June 2528) in Cromwell, Connecticut; and the Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 2-5) in Detroit.

The PGA Championship will be played from August 6-9 in San Francisco and the US Open is rescheduled for September 17-20 in New York.

Meanwhile the Asian Tour yesterday announced plans to restart in September.

It aims to tee off again at the Shinhan Donghae Open from September 10 to 13 in South Korea, the first of three events in consecutive weeks. —