Rain Delayed RBC Heritage Final Round Averages 2 Million Viewers

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The PGA Tour’s “Return to Golf” featured pretty solid viewer sizes given the Sunday rain delay, with noticeably strong performances during Golf Channel’s broadcast of PGA Tour Live’s Featured Group coverage.

The numbers were comparable on CBS and well up on Golf Channel compared to the 2019 Travelers played last year in the same slot.

From ShowBuzzDaily:

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Note that Golf Channel picked up 1.2 million viewers when CBS signed off in part of the country due to teh delay.

The 2019 Travelers ratings played during a comparable week:

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**Paulsen at SportsMediaWatch offered a similar assessment: weak CBS ratings given the lack of competition, but a strong showing for Golf Channel.

Golf Channel also averaged a 0.6 (+13%) and 935,000 (+16%) leading into CBS coverage, its largest lead-in audience at the Heritage on record. That comes a week after the network delivered its largest first, second, third and final round audiences ever at Colonial, including a tournament-record 1.05 million for a final round lead-in.

Third round action on Saturday averaged a 1.3 (-7%) and 1.82 million (-10%) on CBS and a 0.51 (+11%) and 739,000 (+7%) on Golf Channel.

View From BBC: "The bubble is leaky"

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Iain Carter pens this BBC piece on the PGA Tour’s first two weeks.

When filing he was not aware of two more players withdrawing to start Travelers Championship week when he noted the European Tour’s plans this July:

The bubble is leaky. When the European Tour resumes on 22 July stricter regulations will be in place with all participants, officials and media required to stay in designated and, where possible, on site hotels.

No one will be allowed to breach the bubble and, unlike in the United States, the media will also have to undergo testing before being admitted.

The PGA Tour is expected to announce some bubble patches Wednesday at the Travelers. Perhaps PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan may even appear to address the start like other leaders in sports have after a positive test.

First Review In For Hoylake's New 17th And Prediction Of Its Next Open Rota Appearance

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Royal Liverpool clubhouse, photo by Geoff Shackelford

Royal Liverpool clubhouse, photo by Geoff Shackelford

In his weekly Daily Mail golf column, Derek Lawrenson says news may be coming soon on Royal Liverpool getting pushed back in The Open rota so that Royal Troon can retain its 2023 centenary date.

The cancellation of the 2020 Open has pushed the schedule back a year, with Royal St George’s hosting in 2021 and The Old Course in 2022.

Lawrenson also tested out what will be the courses new par-17th hole whenever The Open returns (photo below). The new hole was created in addition to other adjustments by Mackenzie and Ebert.

Leaving aside the two new holes showcased when Portrush returned to the rota last year, this will be the first time we've seen a brand new hole on one of the established Open courses in recent memory.

It's good to report, therefore, it's a beauty, with dramatic views over to Hilbre Island, and quite a talking point too in these days of ever-longer courses, given it measures under 130 yards.

Tuesday: COVID-19 Positives Prompt WD's From Travelers Championship

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Week three of the 2020 “Return to Golf” has seen two more players withdraw or intend to from the Travelers Championship. And it’s only Tuesday.

Cameron Champ tested positive upon arriving at the event after not playing last week’s RBC Heritage, and according to GolfDigest.com’s Joel Beall, must self-isolate for ten days.

Later in the evening, Graeme McDowell told Golfweek he is withdrawing Wednesday morning after his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive before traveling to the tournament. McDowell played the first two events, missing the cut in each.

From Eamon Lynch’s Golfweek story where McDowell and Comboy share the sequence of events.

Comboy suspects he may have been exposed to the virus after the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas two weeks ago. McDowell’s private plane was too small for his party, so his longtime bagman took a commercial flight to Orlando that he described as “packed” with passengers. On Monday, he and McDowell attended the funeral of a friend, then drove to Hilton Head, S.C. for the RBC Classic.

On Thursday, Comboy said he had a mild sore throat and went to bed early. After missing the cut Friday morning, the pair drove home to Orlando that afternoon with McDowell’s trainer, a six-hour journey.

McDowell certainly seems wise to WD now given the amount of time the two have been close and presumably without masks.

National Park Service To Begin Negotiating With National Links Trust To Restore DC Munis

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Nice work here by Andy Johnson at TheFriedEgg.com to explain the next big step for the National Links Trust’s effort to save some architectural gems.

National Links Trust (NLT), a non-profit headed by Michael McCartin and Will Smith, plans to make a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment in the East Potomac, Rock Creek Park, and Langston golf properties.

As The Fried Egg previously reported, NLT has partnered with management company Troon Golf, developer Mike Keiser, and a trio of leading design firms. Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design hopes to restore Walter Travis’s reversible layout at East Potomac; Hanse Golf Course Design has agreed to improve Rock Creek Park, a William Flynn design; and Beau Welling, a senior design consultant for Tiger Woods’s TGR Design, looks to renovate Langston.

Kudos to all involved fr putting in the time and effort.

A few of Andy’s past contributions to highlighting this cause:

A little history

When it opened in 1921, East Potomac Golf Course set out to be “the model public playground.” The reversible nine-hole Walter Travis design was an immediate hit among Washington, D.C., residents and led to a surge in enthusiasm for golf. The East Potomac facility quickly expanded from nine to 18 reversible Travis holes in 1925. Still unable to meet demand, the facility added yet another nine—this one designed by William Flynn—in 1927. In its first year of operation as a 27-hole facility, East Potomac logged over 157,000 nine-hole rounds. East Potomac was so well-regarded that President Warren Harding would often play it instead of his home club at Chevy Chase.

Lee Westwood: Rory's Probably Had A "Rethink" About Questioning European Stars Sitting Out PGA Tour's Return

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Lee Westwood believes Rory McIlroy has “probably had a rethink” after his declaration last week that European Tour golfers have no right to complain about avoiding America during the COVID-19 outbreak. McIlroy mocked players for not willingly quarantining for 14 days with their families in Florida. (You know, because nothing says fun like Florida in July with 4000 people a day testing positive for a coronavirus, versus, oh, Europe in summer.)

James Corrigan reports for the Telegraph on Westwood—one of the players essentially called out by McIlroy given the choice to stay in England for the PGA Tour’s restart—having had a rethink, which is code for a healthy text exchange!

That’s great news since it seemed like an unusually insensitive stance McIlroy took toward his European Ryder Cup peers.

"Golf Channel announces major layoffs coming to Orlando-based staff"

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Golfweek’s Jason Lusk and Adam Schupak report that “most” of Golf Channel’s Orlando-based staff will be laid off in two waves. The news was delivered in a Microsoft Teams call by an unnamed executive and human resources officer.

All employees will be allowed to reapply for their jobs – if they’re still available. Those whose jobs are eliminated in Phase I will find out as early as Tuesday that their current jobs will end August 29. Those in Phase II will be let go sometime between Oct. 31 and Dec. 31.

“As we announced in February, Golf Channel will be moving its media operations primarily to NBC Sports’ headquarters in Stamford, Conn., by year-end, while GOLFNOW and GOLFPASS will continue to operate from Orlando,” a Golf Channel spokesman said in a statement to Golfweek on Monday.

The report says only “a small fraction of existing jobs are expected to be made available for relocation” to Stamford, Connecticut. Initially the move was announced as part of a “geographic consolidation”.

The lost jobs come in all categories, from camera operators to producers to website writers, Golfweek was told by several people familiar with the layoffs, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity since they are not authorized to address the matter publicly.

Golf Channel’s parent company, NBC Sports, recently renewed its PGA Tour television rights deal at a significantly higher price despite sliding ratings and cord-cutting, with the PGA Tour taking on more production, as first reported here.

Guardian: Ryder Cup Moving To 2021, Announcement Next Week

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The Guardian’s Ewan Murray reports that the 2020 Ryder Cup will likely become the 2021 Ryder Cup next week.

Talks between the PGA of America and the European Tour, who preside jointly over the Ryder Cup, and local government officials in Wisconsin are now close to completion despite a public line of “no change” to existing arrangements. Work on the spectator build at Whistling Straits, ordinarily well under way by now, is not believed to have meaningfully started.

In last week’s poll, the majority here voted for the Ryder Cup to be postponed a year.

PGA Championship Gets the Green Light Without Fans

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Minus fans, the PGA of America confirms reports of plans to to move ahead with the PGA Championship in August. Undoubtedly this is a shame on so many levels, particularly with the organization returning to the west coast, on a true public course and where the galleries would have been such a big part of the week.

The details from their press release, including ticket refund information for those who planned on going.

For Immediate Release:

2020 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE PLAYED AT TPC HARDING PARK WITHOUT SPECTATORS

Brooks Koepka Goes for Rare Three-peat in 

First Men’s Major Championship of the Year  

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (June 22, 2020) 一 The City of San Francisco and the PGA of America today announced that the 2020 PGA Championship, in which two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka aims for a historic three-peat, will be contested without spectators on-site, August 3-9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. 

The decision to play golf’s first men’s major championship of 2020 without spectators was made in coordination with the state of California and city and county of San Francisco, with the health and well-being of all involved as the top priority.

“We are thrilled to welcome the PGA Championship to San Francisco,” said San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. “We are able to safely take this step toward reopening because of the ongoing sacrifices of our citizens, the continued committed work of our healthcare workers and the early action we took to battle COVID-19.” 

The PGA of America will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments and work in concert with the state of California and San Francisco city and county public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention through Championship Week.

“We are both inspired and honored to ‘play on,’” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. “In doing so, we will spotlight not only the beauty of TPC Harding Park, but the fortitude of San Francisco and its remarkable people. We'd like to thank the state of California and the city and county of San Francisco for being terrific partners in helping us get to this place. While the local community cannot be with us physically on-site, we will certainly carry their spirit of resilience and unity with us as we stage our major championship, on their behalf, for all the world to see and enjoy.”

Many of golf’s greatest champions, from Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, to Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, have had their names inscribed on the famed Wanamaker Trophy. 

“It has been gratifying for our PGA Professionals to play a meaningful role in helping people find healthy, outdoor recreation during the various phases of reopening golf,” noted PGA of America President Suzy Whaley. “It’s been encouraging to see our entire country and such a wide diversity of people embrace golf as a responsible, yet fun, activity to share with family and friends. We also look forward to returning to San Francisco and The Olympic Club for the PGA Championship in 2028 and the Ryder Cup in 2032, when we will again share this great game with the people of the Bay Area.”

In the coming days, those who purchased tickets directly from the PGA of America will be contacted to facilitate refunds. Updates will be posted at pgachampionship.com and on social media @PGAChampionship.

Those who purchased tickets from a secondary market platform other than pgachampionship.com should contact that site directly. The PGA of America will be unable to process refunds for those tickets. 

The 2020 PGA Championship – the first in the PGA of America’s landmark 11-year media rights agreement with CBS and ESPN – will feature CBS Sports, ESPN and ESPN+ combining to deliver an unprecedented amount of broadcast and digital coverage.

Globally, the PGA Championship will be broadcast in 164 countries and territories reaching more than a half-billion households.

“Welcoming the PGA Championship to San Francisco is the high point of a very unusual year. We are looking forward to sharing the beauty of TPC Harding Park and San Francisco with the players, the media and viewers all over the world,” said Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association, the official destination marketing organization.

TPC Harding Park, which is managed by the City’s Recreation and Park Department, is the fourth municipal golf course to host the PGA Championship. 

Seven of the past 10 winners of the PGA Championship went on to become No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, including Koepka, who won his second consecutive PGA Championship in May 2019 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. The two-time defending PGA Champion will use the season’s initial men’s major championship to bid for history, as he’ll seek to become the first player to win the same major three consecutive times since Australia’s Peter Thomson claimed three straight Open Championships from 1954-56.

The field also will once again include the top 20 PGA Club Professionals, who will qualify during the PGA Professional Championship to be played in late July at Omni Barton Creek Resort in Austin, Texas.

Prior to its postponement on March 17, the PGA Championship was originally scheduled for play May 14-17.

On Behalf Of Golf: The PGA Tour Needs To Start Taking COVID-19 More Seriously, Pronto

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Everybody is watching.

That was Commissioner Jay Monahan’s statement at the PGA Tour’s first event back. And through two events—at least to anyone watching at home—the PGA Tour looks like a collection of very fine golfers, caddies, volunteers and officials who see themselves as above taking measures to ensure the safety of themselves or others.

Just consider the other sports on television this weekend while the storm-delayed RBC Heritage played out (ultimately won by Webb Simpson in the stunning Hilton Head twilight).

The Professional Bull Riders and everyone around them wore masks on CBS.

The pit crews and drivers at NASCAR have been showing on Fox broadcasts how seriously they are taking the privilege of competing in a time other sports are stalled (granted, they do have other disgusting and potentially fatal issues to deal with).

How about the USA Cornhole Club Championship on NBC Sports? Yep, distancing and masks.

Horse racing across the world has performed incredibly, with everything from Royal Ascot to Los Alamitos showing that life can temporarily go on in with masks.

And I’m sure if they still televised dog races, we’d see they’d be willing to follow protocols, too.

Then there is the pitiful performance of the PGA Tour, which, unlike the above mentioned sports, had a contestant test positive for the virus.

Did this result in an uptick in more careful behavior in front of CBS cameras this weekend? Or an appearance by a leading Tour official to address the situation?

Of course not.

While the CBS crew has been consistently seen complying with regulations and recommendations by wearing face coverage and spacing, the same cannot be said for players, caddies (except one!), volunteers, rules staff and tournament officials. Despite having a positive case on the grounds this week, the PGA Tour collective has not felt obligated to show they care about the welfare of others in this strange time where everybody is watching.

So it’s very much a bubble: one of denial and potentially expensive foolishness.

Many months into this pandemic we know golf courses are safe places to be and we’ve all agreed on one thing no matter our political persuasions: golf has so many benefits and courses are great places to go. Unfortunately the sport is hitched to a wagon that is rolling around the country flaunting basic rules and setting itself for a disaster, all in the name of chasing FedExCup points.

Consider the Nick Watney situation. He’s the unfortunate first of what will be many PGA Tour players who contract COVID-19 assuming things continue on the current reckless course of multiple lodging options, modes of transportation and overall virus denying.

While he was lauded for essentially turning himself in to be tested because his Whoop detected abnormal respiratory readings, Watney was also not feeling well. Yet he was allowed on the grounds of Harbour Town with possible symptoms, something that would get him turned away from every other functioning business on the planet.

Not the PGA Tour! Hey, got hit a bucket while we wait what will surely be a negative because you guys are athletes today like the game has never seen before and you won’t get viruses.

Eamon Lynch of Golfweek writes:

Consider its own statement announcing Watney’s withdrawal before his second round tee time: “On Friday, prior to arriving at the tournament, he indicated he had symptoms consistent with the illness,” it read.

The key word is “prior.”

Tour officials knew Watney was symptomatic before he arrived at the golf course so they had an obligation to isolate him from other competitors and people. Instead, he was able to stroll to the practice area while awaiting his test result. Perhaps there was a misguided notion that he could prepare to play should his test be negative, but that’s a laissez-faire luxury the Tour can ill afford in this hyper-sensitive environment.

The environment is hyper-sensitive for a very simple reason: this is a highly contagious virus that impacts different people in different ways.

We know from his caddie, Tony Navarro, that following the first round Watney was not feeling well, as reported by Steve DiMeglio:

“We played very early on Thursday, so we were up since 4 a.m. We finished by 11:30 and then hit balls for an hour and a half. Then we went to the house and he wanted to take a nap,” Navarro said. “He got up about 5 o’clock and said he didn’t feel good. He wears a monitor on his wrist that tracks his heart rate and it was kind of sending him some signs that alarmed him a little bit.”

A CBS report Saturday told us Watney felt fine all week and it was he who “pushed” to get tested “to protect the field.” If that is the case—likely a stretch—then this means the system devised by the PGA Tour is even more flawed than we ever imagined.

So what was the RBC Heritage field’s response after Watney entered the grounds to be tested and then went about his business, potentially infecting others? A weekend of no masks, rare distancing, no visible sanitizing practices, and an overall continued complacency. All of this played out on national TV where “everyone is watching” while the rest of the golf industry complies with basic standards.

What a mistake.

Even Sunday’s rain-delayed restart stood out to anyone who saw the players warming up on television or in person:

While they were not distancing during the rain-delay restart, at least Watney’s positive test might mean there are signs the players are listening.

From Steve DiMeglio’s Sunday report on uneasy feelings at Harbour Town.

“It definitely got me thinking about kind of everything that I’ve done this week,” Webb Simpson said. “I’ve tried to be really careful, but I could probably be more careful. I hadn’t really gone out to dinner. I’ve gotten takeout every night. But in terms of even wearing the mask, any time I’m out of my comfort zone away from the golf course, I think it’s smart.

“And really, the six-foot rule I’ve been good about, but I probably could be better. So it definitely got me thinking.”

Added Ryan Palmer: “Everything you do, you’ve got to pay attention.”

Uh, yeah, that’s the rest of the world at least a couple of months ago. Welcome aboard.

There was also this from Vaughn Taylor, one of the players who teed up with Watney in round one.

“Everyone has kind of ratcheted it up a little bit. Not hanging out with too many people, hanging with too many guys, stay out of restaurants and bars and those things. I think, if we do that, we should be safe. We’ve all got to keep that in the back of our mind and just be smart.

“It would be nice if we just had the ability to get tested whenever we like. Some guys want to get tested more. Some guys are comfortable with the way it is. I think it’s still a learning curve. I feel good that the Tour is going to get everything worked out.”

Daily screening and possibly daily testing would seem to be necessary if an asymptomatic Watney did have to “push” to be tested, as CBS reported. And certainly, better protocols are needed for players on site who feel symptoms so that they aren’t gallivanting around the grounds.

But more than the PGA Tour’s leaking bubble, a realization needs to kick in soon that the game and it’s corresponding $85 billion business sector is counting on the PGA Tour to not sully the sport’s reputation.

First Positive Test: Players Express Surprise At Lax Hilton Head Scene, Veterans Hope It's A Wake-Up Call

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Come to Hilton Head Island and act like it never happened!

Or something like that, at least if you go by post-round comments at the RBC Heritage where players wondered if Nick Watney was an unlucky victim of a lax distancing and mask scene.

Justin Thomas was probably the most blunt about the scene, as Joel Beall reports for GolfDigest.com.

"Yeah, obviously, I was bummed [about Watney]. I don't want to—it's a shame because ... we have done such a great job these first two weeks,” Thomas said. “I mean, no offense to Hilton Head, but they're seeming to not take it very seriously. It's an absolute zoo around here. There's people everywhere. The beaches are absolutely packed. Every restaurant, from what I've seen when I've been driving by, is absolutely crowded. So I would say it's no coincidence that there's got to be a lot of stuff going on around here.

“Unfortunately, that's not on Nick because I know he's very cautious and has done everything he can, but I would say a lot of people in this area of Hilton Head just aren't.”

And this from Thomas and then Carlos Ortiz, who is one stroke out of the leading heading into the final round:

AP’s Doug Ferguson filed a lengthy missive on the various post-positive test mood and shared this from Vaughn Taylor and Brooks Koepka. Taylor, the first round playing partner of Watney and Koepka, world no. 2 golfer.

''It's eye-opening to see how much the virus is out there and how careful we have to be,'' Taylor said. ''I felt like coming in the last week everyone was super careful, and then we got here, and the vibe on the island is a little more relaxed. I feel like we might have gotten a little more relaxed, too. Everyone has kind of ratcheted it up a little bit. Not hanging out with too many people, hanging with too many guys, stay out of restaurants and bars and those things.

''I think if we do that, we should be safe,'' he said. ''We've all got to keep that in the back of our mind and just be smart.''

The PGA Tour heads to Cromwell, Connecticut, next week, followed by Detroit and then back-to-back tournaments in Ohio.

''We've got to see what happens,'' Koepka said. ''It's unfortunate Nick got it, but at the same time, hopefully, it stays with just him and doesn't spread. Because I think we'll have a big issue on our hands if it keeps going as the weeks continue.''

Meanwhile down in St. Augustine where the Korn Ferry Tour wrapped Saturday with a Chris Kirk win, GolfChannel.com’s Will Gray talked to veteran pros of both Tours and members of PGA Tour committees.

A consistent theme developed: wake-up call.

Now, why, as the first sport back and with so much on the line the players needed a wake-up call, I don’t know. But good for vets like Johnson Wagner, James Hahn and Scott Langley for driving home that point.

From Wagner, a PGA Tour Policy Board player director:

“I guess I’m a little apprehensive right now. I feel like the longer we’re out, the more susceptible we are to positive tests,” said Johnson Wagner, a player director on the PGA Tour’s policy board. “So I’m just hoping this is a wake-up call to everybody on Tour, that just because you get tested on Monday and pass, you’re not impervious to this virus.”

Sergio On Nick Watney: "There's a lot of other people that probably deserved [COVID-19] a lot more than him"

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On a white board somewhere in Ponte Vedra Beach, there was a list of reasons why PGA Tour needed to be careful in returning before most American sports.

I think we’d all agree that a top 3 lock sounded something like player and caddie safety in a time of pandemic. Next, there was surely something about doing damage to efforts at keeping golf or all other sports viable. Shoot, maybe something about not hurting the image of the game. Well, the PGA Tour.

Anyway, I’m fairly certain another top three reason would have been wishing the virus on a fellow player. Actually, no one in their right mind would think a player might…oh, wait, you said Sergio’s playing this week?

Sigh.

Following a third round 65 that has him two strokes off the RBC Heritage, Sergio Garcia accomplished at least one thing: he got Rory McIlroy out of the lead for the week’s Most Regrettable Comment.

From GolfDigest.com’s Daniel Rapaport on Garcia telling how he felt for Nick Watney testing positive for COVID-19, including how he gave him a ride on his jet and had a scary 4 1/2 wait for a test result.

“I felt terrible for Nick because he's probably one of the nicest guys on Tour,” Garcia said after shooting 65 on Saturday. “Unfortunately, it had to happen to him. So there's a lot of other people that probably deserved it a lot more than him, and he's the one that got it.”

Garcia did not, unfortunately, elaborate further as to which PGA Tour player deserves COVID-19 more than Watney.

What Went Wrong? First PGA Tour Player To Test COVID-19 Positive Had Symptoms Before Arriving At Course

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PGA Tour Statement On Nick Watney

PGA Tour Statement On Nick Watney

News of Nick Watney becoming the first PGA Tour player to test positive for COVID-19 was met with a fairly consistent chorus of “a matter of when, not if”.

However, a quick review suggests the PGA Tour “bubble” has burst in just week two of the “Return to Golf.”

There are wide-ranging implications for public health, Watney’s peers, golf tournaments going forward and even the entire sports business world. This was no secret and why overcautious behavior was vital. So the “matter of when, not if” view discounts what appears to be sloppiness by Watney, at the very least, and validates concerns early on that PGA Tour policies were too lenient.

A review, starting with this sequence of events from AP’s Doug Ferguson reporting from the RBC Heritage on Watney’s movements.

Before arriving to the course for his second round, he reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Watney was tested again, and the result came back positive.

Si Woo Kim saw him in passing on the range, and Rory McIlroy said he chatted with Watney on the putting green. McIlroy said they were at a distance, and that Watney sent him a text about the positive result after McIlroy finished his round.

''He was just saying, `Look, I hope I didn't get too close to you.' He feels badly that he was here today at the golf course,'' McIlroy said. ''I said to him, `If I was in your position, I probably would have been here, too. At this point, you just have to concentrate on getting better and getting healthy.'''

Brooks Koepka, world No. 2, reported being “right next to” Watney in the player parking lot. That’s the world’s no. 1 and 2 possibly exposed at a PGA Tour venue even with testing, protocols and other practices in place. Unreal.

Also noteworthy: during the Golf Channel broadcast, on-course reporter Mark Immelman said upon hearing the news he was watching Watney on Wednesday and thought the 35-year-old five-time winnner seemed lethargic, out of sorts with his swing, and not exuding 100% health.

This all begs the most obvious question: what happened to the PGA Tour’s daily questioning and temperature checks as outlined in their guidelines? In a state where cases are spiking?

How did Watney, feeling symptoms, get to places on the property like the range, putting green or clubhouse area?

From the PGA Tour Participant Resource Guide:

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While a tad confusing on the “daily medical screening” portion which then outlines the first on-site test protocols for players, the final paragraph notes “abnormal daily on-site medical screening” and a tournament designated area for those potentially needing evaluation.

And yet the player in question was apparently awaiting test results outside of this area and free to roam among his peers? Unreal.

Which ultimately brings us to the apathy element obvious to those on site or watching on television: despite repeated pleas by PGA Tour officials asking for compliance, it’s not happening even with a national TV audience. That doesn’t bode well for taking all precautions necessary when the red light is off.

Robust testing is in place, as ESPN.com’s Bob Harig notes with the numbers here.

But testing is only one element. Note this from GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard who looked at what the Watney situation means for tournaments going forward.

Unlike the bubble the NBA is creating in Orlando, Florida, the Tour’s bubble is only as strong as those it’s intended to protect. This inherent vulnerability has always been the primary concern.
As late as Thursday, players were warned, again, in a memo to maintain social distancing, minimize exposure and to avoid a sense of “false security.”

“Please be advised that failure to follow these protocols and the rules outlined in the Participant Resource Guide may result in a player or caddie being ineligible to receive the stipend provided by the PGA Tour for those constituents who are eligible,” read the memo from the Tour’s chief tournaments and competitions officer Andy Pazder.

Also potentially impacted are those who were around Watney Thursday at Harbour Town and who were informed of the news midway through their round (though with Watney WD’ing before the start of play, the possibility had to be in their heads).

From Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com story quoting Vaughn Taylor and Luke List, Watney’s playing partners.

“I was a little shocked, to be honest,” Taylor said. “Heart started racing, got a little nervous. Just hope Nick’s doing well and we get through this.

“It was on our minds that second nine. We were all chitchatting about it. It’s hard not to think about it.”

Though both players said they felt fine, Taylor and List, along with their caddies, confirmed they would undergo testing on Friday.

“Yeah, it was hard to concentrate out there for me, just thinking about different stuff, and I wasn't playing my best anyway,” said List, who won in the Korn Ferry Tour’s return to action last week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach but shot two-over 73 on Friday to miss the cut.

Wacker notes Watney must quarantine for 10 days in Hilton Head or drive home immediately to Austin, Texas. He will receive $100,000 for his troubles and we hope, nothing more than some mild symptoms.

As for where this leaves the PGA Tour and future events, the viability of future events relies on actual enforcement of the guidelines and some major screw-tightening.

From Ferguson’s piece, noting the next “scheduled” event, the issues with Hilton Head this week, and a more responsible approach to testing next week:

The PGA Tour is scheduled to play next week in Cromwell, Connecticut, where the Travelers Championship is testing everyone - including volunteers and media - who will be on property.

Tournament organizers made that decision. The PGA Tour has tried to create a bubble of its key people at tournaments, designating player hotels as an option and urging everyone in the bubble to avoid outside contact. Some players have been renting houses. There is no regulation if they choose to eat out.

Hilton Head has been particularly busy this week, with local restaurants packed with people who typically come to this quiet island on the Atlantic coast for vacation.

''South Carolina's open. If you go anywhere to a restaurant, there's a lot of people there right now,'' Spieth said. ''So I guess that's probably best case is that he got it on his own outside'' the bubble.

Watney then brought it inside a bubble.

Maybe players need to hear this in more plain language. Let me help.

The flawed “bubble”—as Adam Scott felt and why the world no. 8 is not playing yet—was designed to not only protect players and others on site, but the viability of the golf industry in a time of pandemic. That means everyone from the pro ranks, to the everyday golf course, to every constituent in an $85 billion industry.

Let’s hope for all involved that Watney merely just has some light symptoms and no others at Harbour Town get COVID-19. Oh, and reading the regulations would be nice, too:

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The news came on the same day Major League Baseball shut down all of its facilities to voluntary player workouts after multiple outbreaks.

Also, one of the nation’s elite college football programs, Clemson, revealed an outbreak of 23 positive tests.

Today In Microphone Wearing Wars: Koepka Scolds Announcers, Hadwin Gives Us Access To His Penalty

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As galleries are kept away and likely will for most tournaments this year, the importance of sound continues to be a topic. Who knew it was this sensitive? Oh right, anyone who has dealt with modern golf pros who think they’re carrying out an NSA mission.

World No. 2 Brooks Koepka added this on the eve of the 2020 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, reports Stephen Fastenau of the Island Packet.

Asked about his thought on players wearing microphones after his first round at the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, Koepka didn’t hold back.

“I don’t understand why they want us to wear a mike when there’s a boom mike that stands 10 feet away from every shot that I hit,” Koepka said after opening with a 4-under-par 67 in his first start at Harbour Town Golf Links. “If the announcers would just shut up and listen, you could hear every word that we’re talking about.”

For Thursday’s Heritage first round, Adam Hadwin wore one. Besides providing several instances of insight and something different than stock, Melatonin-producing coverage, the Canadian gave us more than he ever hoped. After touching what he thought was a rock near his bunkered ball, he immediately declared it was, actually, sand. He immediately suspected he’d made a mistake and we got to hear the entire exchange with official Mark Dusbabek thanks to his microphone.

Brian Wacker with the full conversation here for GolfDigest.com.

Sadly, video showing the initial realization of the moment is not on the official Tour accounts, so enjoy this truncated version until the Cult PVB Fun Police zap what is a very harmless and informative mistake.

Follow Up On PGA of America's Inclusion Efforts: CEO Waugh Reaches Out

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Wendell Haskins wrote to his former employers at the PGA of America on Monday about the failed inclusion efforts while he was there.

Perhaps coincidentally, or not, Haskins was contacted by PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh Thursday after Wednesday night’s post here and, well, Waugh reports a good talk.

"I had never met Wendell so I reached out to him and had a two hour video chat. I listened carefully to his ideas and took them to heart in our ongoing efforts to make the PGA of America and the game of golf more inclusive and diverse. I appreciate the opportunity to share views and we thank him for the dialogue."