The only thing worse than bad news is uncertainty and we’ve got truckloads of that right now.
The COVID19 war has shut down the world of professional sports and golf is certainly feeling the brunt of it about now.
We’re down two majors and it seems like at any time, the USGA will face the harsh reality that the U.S. Open will not be played at Winged Foot on June 18.
The R&A is keeping the British stiff upper lip with the Open Championship still on for July at Royal St. Georges but it wouldn’t shock anyone if that ancient championship gets the heave-ho, putting it in the same company with the other three — wondering if there’s a later date for the majors in 2020?
Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell put it best last week when the discussion came up:
“I can’t imagine the jigsaw puzzle the European Tour, PGA Tour and the four majors have on their hands before we even start talking about the Ryder Cup. It’s a crazy puzzle.”
At this point it might be an impossible puzzle. The PGA Tour is hoping to kickstart itself at The Colonial in May. It might go so far as to try and stage it without any spectators on site at Colonial Country Club. But when posed the scenario of sporting events without fans, basketball icon LeBron James gave his take:
“I just don’t know how we can imagine a sporting event without fans,” James said on a podcast last week. “There’s no excitement. There’s no crying. There’s no joy.”
Which pretty much sums up the state of the world today with the virus wreaking havoc — there’s no excitement, there no joy but there is crying because some victims of the virus have lost their lives.
On Sunday the White House extended its policies regarding the virus to the end of April. What we have here is a big “wait, fight and see” situation where we all need to do our part.
Which brings us back to the PGA Tour’s restart date of May 21 in Fort Worth. The only fact we can hang a golf hat on is that we should know a lot more by the end of April.
In the meantime, you’d figure the tour will still go all out to stage the FedEx Cup playoffs in August. The Ryder Cup was set for September in Wisconsin but if the four majors are trying to get in, then the Ryder Cup most likely would get put on the back burner for 2020.
There’s already whispers of The Masters in October and the fellas up at The National haven’t confirmed or denied that they have a back-up plan in the works. The U.S. Open could go in September or October, not sure about November in New York. The Open Championship could be played in October. Things get a bit chilly across the pond but conditions are still very playable. The PGA could be played in November, San Francisco is supposed to have the best year-round climate of any city.
Which brings us back to G-Mac’s jigsaw puzzle.
It’s more like a Rubik’s Cube.
If The Masters is played in the fall, CBS is in the thick of football season on Sundays. A November Masters? That would mean the 2021 Masters would be played just five months after the 2020 Masters.
The PGA Tour has its own set of problems. It has lost a lot of events and makes the FedEx Cup points race a really messy situation.
Yeah, we’ve got a giant mess on our hands. When it comes to daily life, we’re all in this together.
One thing I do know is that I can’t find a single person who doesn’t miss watching their favorite sports on television.
First things first, this virus stuff can and will be beaten.
Let’s all make sure of that.
4 Comments
FPPGA
Dear Tom:
We have Ryder Cup every week on the PGA tour…Frankly, I think it’s a needless along with the President Cup…However, I have never been a fan of team play in golf even back to my high school days…I could care less about the team, I wanted to be medalist at every match…
Master’s in the fall…Good…No college or NFL will EVER trump the Master’s!
Living in the San Francisco bay area for the last 69 years…Harding Park in November can be the best place on earth or dreadful…
Tom Edrington
FP: Thanks for checking in, hope you are safe out there in ‘Frisco…….The Masters has always been my favorite major; I’m wondering to myself if, when they consider, would ANGC actually play in October knowing that they’d have just 6 months before the 2021 Masters? I’m with you on the team stuff; Golf is VERY individual, especially in the USA which is why they’ve been struggling in recent RC competition; Stay safe and don’t be a stranger to our “Comments” section!!
baxter cepeda
It’s a mess alright. But we will get thru.
The Ryder Cup could be in jeopardy, only because golf will need as many 150+ man fields as possible. But make no mistake because of lone rangers Tom and fppga; fans want the Ryder Cup over most anything but the majors.
The Players and the organizations will need to decide what is most important, money or joy.
Or will they?
It is possible to hold multiple events at once. The pga tour does it some weeks but it could hold 3-4 events a week; making them a bit more regional. They can hold 2 opposite events the week of the Ryder Cup; which only needs 24 players; we know where Reed will be.
They can even run another event or 2 opposite of the Masters; considering the Masters field is comprised of mostly the top 50 and a bunch of mostly ceremonial participants. This special field leaves hundreds of tour level players outside Augusta Nationals gates; all of which will be very ready to play any tour event.
Obvio the tour doesn’t want to compete with itself but this could be a way to get events in, make some charity money; all those good things.
As for the Masters I don’t care if the 20-21 masters end up being 3 months apart; hold the masters if at all possible…Please!
Waiting a whole year for the Masters is tough. Waiting over a year and a half is that much worse. We deserve 2 Masters in less than 6 months after all this.
Tom Edrington
First things first, Baxter, we need to get the country up and running after this virus is under control!!