The First Look: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play

In a PGA TOUR career that lacked the sort of highlights he may have envisioned for himself, Jim Jamieson could at least point to one that carried enormous personal satisfaction. At Sunset Ridge Country Club on the outskirts of Chicago, Jamieson in the summer of 1972 was a local kid, playing in front of family and friends from his hometown of Moline at the Western Open. Though he built an impressive eight-shot lead through 54 holes, Jamieson only had to look up and down his gallery to realize what was at stake that Sunday. “I couldn’t let them down, but I’ll admit I was nervous when I started,� Jamieson told reporters after closing with a 69 to finish at 13-under 271 and win by six. He choked back his emotions and kept accepting congratulations from well-wishers. “I’m still in a Twilight zone.� It would be the only win in Jamieson’s nine-year PGA TOUR career, but the relative quiet of his pro success isn’t what defined the man who died Wednesday at 75. Instead, Tony Navarro – a longtime caddie who grew up in Moline and considered Jamieson a sort of mentor – gushed about “a real sweetheart, a gentleman� and a moving force to bring the PGA TOUR to their hometown area. “He was very much a part of starting the Quad Cities Open (now the John Deere Classic),� said Navarro. “All of us in the area were very proud of him for that and happy that he brought it here.� Having advanced from the caddie ranks at Oakwood Country Club in Moline to star for Oklahoma State’s 1963 NCAA Championship golf team, Jamieson made it onto the PGA TOUR in 1969 at the age of 26. His relatively late start is owed to a reason that few young golfers could relate to – Jamieson served a military stint in Vietnam. Jamieson played the bulk of his 236 tournaments between 1969 and 1977 when he broke a hand and decided to retire. His best season was 1972, when he won the Western Open and a few weeks later produced his best finish in a major, tied for second, two shots behind Gary Player at Oakland Hills in the PGA Championship. He was 15th on the money list that year, then was inside the top 60 in 1973 and ’74, but 1975-77 was a rough stretch for Jamieson and he chose to accept a job at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The area became home for Jamieson, who befriended his predecessor at the Greenbrier, Sam Snead. “That gave him a lot of stories to tell,� laughed Navarro. “And Jim did love to tell stories and listen to stories. He was a nice man.� When he triumphed at that 1972 Western Open, Jamieson became the first Illinois golfer to win that tournament since the legendary Chick Evans in 1910. So important a win was it for Jamieson that he took $2,000 of his $30,000 first-place prize and donated it to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Years later, Jamieson was inducted into the Quad-Cities Sports Hall of Fame and put his PGA TOUR career into perspective. “I didn’t have enough killer instinct,� he told reporters. “But golf has really been good to me. I have no regrets.�

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With the Charles Schwab Challenge, scheduled for June 11-14 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, the PGA TOUR is set to lead the way as professional sports begin to emerge from a nearly three-month quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. As to how it will do that, the answer is very carefully. “It’s really a layered approach that we’ve taken, and the heart of it is social distancing,â€� the TOUR’s Senior Vice President and Chief of Operations Tyler Dennis told reporters Wednesday on a call that also included Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazder and Senior Vice President of Tournament Administration Andy Levinson. That layered approach will include plenty of testing. Players and caddies will be expected to comply with medical questionnaires, thermal (temperature) readings and RT-PCR nasal swabs. It will start before they travel to tournaments and continue when they arrive. “We’re excited about how the PGA TOUR can play a role here in the world’s return, if you will, to enjoying things we love and doing so in a responsible manner,â€� Dennis said. Pazder concurred, calling this moment “a unique opportunityâ€� to lead the way. Players such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Brendon Todd have said they’re in and will do whatever is needed to return to competition. All three will be in action at Colonial, and McIlroy has said he’ll play the first three tournaments back, which will also include the RBC Heritage (South Carolina) and Travelers Championship (Connecticut). (For more on McIlroy’s schedule, click here.) Asked this week if he had any reservations, McIlroy said, “I don’t think so. If you take necessary precautions … face cover … washing hands … practicing social distancing, I really do think it is possible. If everyone follows guidelines, I don’t see why it’s not possible. Will be comfortable with logistics. I feel comfortable getting back out there.â€� Specifics were outlined in a document sent to players Tuesday. The plan was two months in the making and formed with input from PGA TOUR medical adviser Dr. Tom Hospel and the Federal Coronavirus Task Force, plus other specialists and laboratory directors, and in consultation with other professional sports leagues. The TOUR will provide masks and sanitizer at tournament sites, part of a significantly enhanced disinfectant and hygiene program. The number of people allowed inside any structure concurrently will be monitored and restricted. Most important will be a comprehensive testing and screening program that seeks to protect all involved. “For the player and caddie group,â€� Levinson said, “we are going to be providing that group with a pre‑travel testing program, and the purpose of this is really for those individuals to understand whether or not they have the virus before they travel to a tournament market. “And then upon arrival,â€� he added, “everyone will report to a testing area, likely at a designated hotel, where they will undergo all three screening methods: The questionnaire, thermal reading, and a PCR test. … Everybody who comes on‑site at our events will have to go through a questionnaire and thermal screening before entering the property, and participation is a condition of competition.â€� Although the results of PCR tests can take up to three days or longer, Levinson said the TOUR is working with local laboratories in an effort to shave that waiting time down to “a matter of hours instead of a matter of days.â€� One caveat: It must be done without taking resources away from local communities. “We’re actually studying this very carefully,â€� Dennis said, “and everything we’ve designed is being done in a way that does not do that.â€� Anyone who presents with an elevated temperature will consult with a tournament physician, and in certain cases go from there to COVID-19 testing. “In the event we have a positive test,â€� Levinson said, “we will comply with all local health authorities as well as CDC guidelines, and that would include isolating that individual and may require a period of isolation or an extended time.â€� The TOUR will support players with specialized medical care and supplies throughout the isolation period, he said, “and any player or caddie who were to test positive during an event would receive a stipend associated with the cost of that isolation period.â€� Healthy players and caddies will have access to chartered jets between tournament sites. With the TOUR’s relaunch a month away, it’s all about minimizing risk. Levinson freely admits there is no way to eradicate that risk completely, not yet, but as the players and caddies know best, with the toughest recovery shots there never is.

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Our panel was all over the place, from a Dustin Johnson repeat to a Justin Thomas roll to Jon Rahm taking family photos with a green jacket to a few out-of-nowhere choices.

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