Editorial: Pro Golf Returns!

On June 11, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will all witness the return of professional golf at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, when the Charles Schwab Challenge is played on the PGA Tour. Many of the world’s top players, eager to return to action, are scheduled to play. A stellar field is also on tap the following week at Harbour Town in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, at the RBC Heritage.

The latter tournament is a bittersweet moment for me. I live only 45 minutes from the course and caddy in the pro-ams every year, hobnobbing with some of golf’s greats. I have had the privilege of having conversations with Jordan Spieth, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker, Henrik Stenson and Stewart Cink, among others. Boo Weekley is also a friend of mine, both of us competing back in the day on the Emerald Coast Tour in the Florida Panhandle. However, spectators will not be allowed this year, so I’ll have to settle for watching the event on television instead of taking my two boys out to follow the action in person.

But overall, that’s a minor inconvenience. Most people are now seeing we need to return to some semblance of normalcy, and sports indeed provides that. While it will be strange to see tournament golf without fans for a while, the action and drama is sure to be the same.

By Mark Harman, USGTF National Course Director