It’s almost here — the restart of a PGA Tour season disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The field for next week’s Charles Schwab Invitational is almost official, and the Charlesthe sports world will be watching as events sans galleries fill the airwaves.
So with the reboot looming, we asked our Golfweek staffers: What are you excited to see as we embark on PGA Tour Season 2019-20, 2.0?
STEVE DIMEGLIO
When the first tee ball sets sail next week in the Charles Schwab Challenge at esteemed Colonial Country Club, three months will have passed since someone hit a meaningful shot on the PGA Tour.
Feels more like 180 days. A year even.
Since the Players Championship was grounded on Friday the 13th in March, it has felt like groundhog day, and we’ve done our best Bill Murray trying to get through living the same day over and over again. At least we were afforded an abundance of time to ponder what we’ve missed and what we used to take for granted.
A haircut, for instance. Happy hour. A high-five. A high fade.
Regular rebroadcasts of professional golf tournaments gone by helped fill the colossal chasm, but it was like getting 35 cents on the dollar because you knew what was coming. As time came to a standstill, it didn’t take long to discover what I’ve missed since the PGA Tour and the rest of professional golf was silenced.
Everything.
I’ve missed seeing what Brooks Koepka does with a driver in hand, hearing what Jordan Spieth will say after hitting a shot. Missed watching Sergio Garcia hit an iron, Brandt Snedeker putt, Bubba Watson warm up. I’ve missed Tiger.
I can’t wait to see a bunker blast, a flier, the perfect roll of a well-struck putt. Hearing the sounds made when metal hits ball, Dottie Pepper call a shot, the beautiful silence of a flop shot.
Missed rain delays, waiting for Phil Mickelson to get out of the scoring tent, walking a golf course inside the ropes, a packed leaderboard with Rory McIlroy on top, the rush of writing on deadline, a two-shot swing, the trophy presentation, the post-round interview, a playoff. Birdies, bogeys and others.
I’ve even missed the times when the wireless went down.
As much as anything, I’ve yearned for the unknown, those times wondering what each shot, each hole, each round will bring. How the 72nd hole will play out, how the best players in the world will handle the pressure as the Sunday light begins to fade away.
So fellas, play well and please play away.
BETH ANN NICHOLS
As someone who has covered plenty of college and amateur events over the years, I’m used to watching golf in relative silence, aside from the occasional clap or “Good shot!” from mom and dad. But that’s mostly live – on the golf course.
It will be interesting to see how that translates over four days on television. I didn’t miss fans for one second during The Match II, but that’s in large part because the conversation was so good, both from the announcers and the players.
Will the television producers make an effort to give us more chatter between PGA Tour players and caddies at Colonial? Will the broadcast team back off at appropriate times to allow for it? Sure hope so.
Will players show emotion? Have fun with it and tip their caps to the fans watching from home?
We’ll have a better chance to see and appreciate the course with no grandstands and fans packed around greens. There could be some positives to this more intimate show.
But will we tire of it quickly?
DAVID DUSEK
This year, 2020, was supposed to be epic for golf. We were adding the Olympics and the Ryder Cup to the season’s four majors, with Tiger Woods kicking off the year by defending his green jacket.
The coronavirus changed all that. It put the game into perspective and halted sports around the world. Now, with the PGA Tour set to return, what I am excited to see the most is greatness.
TaylorMade Driving Relief teased use with a four-person, winner-take-all, closest-to-the-pin contest. Thankfully, Rory stepped up and delivered some greatness at Seminole. The following weekend, The Match II gave us another taste, with Tiger Woods looking strong. Now, with McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson committed to playing at Colonial, and more in the weeks ahead, I want to see more greatness. I want to see the top-five players in the world shake off the rust, hit great shots and produce the tension and theater that golf can provide better than any other sport.
It’s selfish, I know, but I’m sick of re-run greatness. I want to see it live again.
TIM SCHMITT
What am I most excited about? The quick answer is the energy Sunday brings, especially when the leaderboard is closely stacked.
The popular answer is to see if Tiger’s back can hold out.
But the truthful answer is I want to see if Rory can become the Rory we’ve been waiting to see.
He’s got four majors. He’s the World No. 1. He’s been PGA Tour Player of the Year three times, including last season. What else could you want, you ask?
I’m looking for a Rory who strikes genuine fear into opponents. I’m looking for a Rory who uses his amazing power — he’s been either first or second in driving distance in each of the last four years on the PGA Tour (including the abbreviated 2020 season) — to dominate fields over an extended period of time.
I’m looking for a Rory who gets out of the gate early, dons a green jacket, completes the career slam and establishes himself as the best player ever from his side of the pond.
McIlroy is the perfect ambassador — he’s easy to root for, he’s considerate, he spends time with adoring fans and he’s as charitable as they come.
But what the golf world needs more than ever is Rory to step into rarified air, reserved for names like Palmer, Nicklaus and Tiger. His body, attitude and game appear poised to make the step. Here’s hoping a condensed 2020 schedule gives him the perfect window to take it.
