The First Look: The American Express

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — At some point, the green must come into view. It’s the flag lolling on the breeze or the sun glinting off the pin, but you can see it way down there in the distance, and so you move ever forward toward something meaningful. That was the message the PGA TOUR conveyed in announcing its newly rejiggered 2020 schedule, and that was the message TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan underlined as he spoke Friday to CNN, ABC World News Tonight and Good Morning America, The Dan Patrick Show, the TODAY Show, CNBC, and NBC’s Lunch Talk Live with Mike Tirico. Monahan addressed interviewers from a makeshift set in THE PLAYERS Championship media room foyer at the TOUR’s Headquarters. In a sign of the times, there was dais, no satellite truck, no teams of producers or A/V experts. Instead, he sat on a stool and spoke into an open laptop or via phone. It was a partly cloudy day, some golfers playing TPC Sawgrass outside, everyone adhering to social distancing protocols. “People were starving for inspiration,â€� Monahan said as he addressed the lineup of shows. “Golf provides that, and sports provide that. We’ve been working day and night with local, city, state and federal officials to determine the right sequence to come back in the safest and most responsible way possible for players, caddies and constituents.â€� Feedback has been positive, no surprise. Players had buy-in; Monahan estimated there have been 10 conference calls with the PGA TOUR Policy Board and Player Advisory Council. If the new schedule holds, the Charles Schwab Challenge, June 11-14, will restart a condensed season that now will feature 36 tournaments instead of the original 49, the first four of which (at minimum) will be played without fans. That’s uncharted territory for the TOUR. Of course the COVID-19 crisis could have other ideas. Testing will play an important role; Monahan said he expects to have protocols in place by the time play resumes. Given how the ground has shifted over the last two months, though, it’s hard to predict where we’ll be in June. “We’re going to have an open mind,â€� he said. Since the cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship on March 12, and suspension of the season, players have given online cooking shows (Anirban Lahiri), delved into gaming (Bryson DeChambeau and others), and played left-handed golf (Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka). Several contributed to a video for PGA TOUR fans. They just haven’t played tournament golf. Fans, meanwhile, have sought refuge in old tournament telecasts, and everyone has wondered where and when they’ll get their next haircut. Now, after daily meetings of the TOUR’s crisis-management team, plus coordination with the PGA of America, Augusta National Golf Club, the USGA, The R&A, the European Tour and the LPGA, there’s actual live golf scheduled for the not-too-distant future. That, in itself, is reason for optimism. “I love that the @pgatour put something out there,â€� FedExCup No. 2 Justin Thomas wrote, in part, on Instagram. “If it happens or not is an unknown since everyone’s safety remains the top priority, but to have them put the effort to show us a plan is great. “I’d rather have something to look forward to,â€� he added, “understanding it may change, than look back and say, ‘Wow I wish we would have had a plan if things got better.’â€� Golf could lead the way back; the TOUR is the first major sports organization to announce its planned return. That’s perhaps no surprise; as Monahan pointed out in making the media rounds, “Our sport lends itself more than any other sport to social distancing.â€� Several interviewers asked him about being part of the Presidential Council to reopen the country, to which Monahan said, “It’s an honor to be invited to be part of it. There aren’t too many times when people come together within and outside of our industry to problem-solve.â€� To understand what was required of golf’s governing bodies, consider that the RBC Heritage – originally scheduled for this week – is now where the U.S. Open used to be, June 18-21. The U.S. Open at Winged Foot is now scheduled for Sept. 17-20, which technically will be the second event of the 2020-21 (wraparound) FedExCup season. The Masters, which would have crowned its champion last Sunday, is slated for Nov. 12-15, after the Houston Open (at least that looks familiar) and before The RSM Classic (not familiar). The PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, which went from August to May for the first time last season, was bumped back to August (6-9) again. And that’s just for starters. Every season is a jigsaw puzzle, but the coronavirus pandemic tipped the table over so that exactly half the pieces were dislodged and dangling by a thread. (Scribes were already preparing their mid-season reports.) Restoring order was – and remains – complicated. What’s more, Monahan added, the TOUR has 93 players from 28 countries and territories to take into consideration. Of those, 25 players – plus approximately 35 caddies – are currently outside the United States, with travel restrictions and border closures to consider as players determine their ability to play the Charles Schwab Challenge and beyond. That’s a lot of moving parts, and June 11 is a long way off. Things could change yet again. “This will be something we will continue to have to monitor, market to market,â€� Monahan said. “If change is called for, then we have to be open to change as it relates to health and safety.â€� Medical professionals. Testing protocols. Local, state and federal guidelines and regulations. Travel restrictions. The governing bodies. Individual tournaments. Broadcast partners. More than 3,000 charities. Other than that, there’s not much to think about. But the green is starting to come into view, the flag is waving in the distance, and that matters whether or not we have the exact yardage right.

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