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Apparently the PGA is re-examining its covid-19 safety protocols after a small number of players/caddies test positive.

From PGAtour.com

On the heels of three positive COVID-19 test results during the Travelers Championship and five player withdrawals, the PGA TOUR, its players and caddies are making an increased commitment to safety measures in its Return to Golf.

“We all need to remind ourselves that we're all learning to live with this virus,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a Wednesday press conference. “… It's pretty clear that this virus isn't going anywhere.”

Anyone needing a reminder received it loud and clear this week with the WDs of five players – Brooks Koepka and his brother, Chase; last week’s RBC Heritage winner Webb Simpson; and Cameron Champ and Graeme McDowell.

Of the five players, Champ was the only one who tested positive. The others were precautionary moves, with the caddies for Brooks Koepka and McDowell testing positive, and a family member of Simpson’s also testing positive. Chase Koepka, a Monday qualifier this week, opted to withdraw after playing a practice round with his brother and McDowell, even though neither he nor his caddie had tested positive. “I feel as if this is the best decision to keep all other players, caddies and volunteers safe,” he explained.

Although just seven of the 2,757 total in-market tournament tests (for both the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour) in the first three weeks have come back positive – a rate of 0.025% -- safety, of course, remains the primary concern for those involved in staging and participating in PGA TOUR events. “It's a low number on a percentage basis,” Monahan said. “But every number hurts.” (excerpt)

https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/06/24 ... virus.html

The Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin will no longer have fan's onsite due to "Rapidly Changing" dynamics of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Though there will not be fan's in attendance, the 45th edition of the Memorial Tournament will still go on in Dublin from July 14th thru July 19th.

Tiger Woods has announced that he intends to return to the PGA Tour on July 16th for the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. Woods said he is looking forward to playing next week, I've missed going out and competing with the guys, and can't wait to get back out there. Woods last played in a PGA Tour event in February in the Genesis Invitational.

Justin Thomas leads Workday Charity Open after 3 Rds. He also remains bogey-free after 3 Rds. After turning a 3-shot deficit into a 2-shot lead with another clean card, he said he was just going to keep trying to hit the fairways and the greens, and then try to make as many birdies as he could. Thomas is a proven star, he has already been a major champion, plus a former world #1 at the age of 27. He is going after his 3rd victory this season, and the 13th victory of his career.

Collin Morikawa outlasted Justin Thomas in Playoff to claim Workday Charity Open Win. Collin Morikawa never looked like a winner, until he tapped in for par on the 3rd playoff hole, capping off a wild finish Sunday at Muirfield Village. Morikawa trailed Justin Thomas by 3 shots with 3 holes to play, and managed to get into a playoff with a 6-under 66. Then after watching Thomas hole a 50 foot birdie putt on the 1st extra hole, he had to make a 25 footer just to stay alive. He could only watch as Thomas had a 10-footer to win on the 18th on the 2nd playoff hole. It finally ended on No-10, when Thomas had to lay up from behind a tree and make bogey. Morikawa then took 2 putts from just inside 10 feet for his 2nd career victory, and 1st against a strong PGA Tour field. I'm sure that Thomas feels as if he lost the tournament after blowing a 3 shot lead with 3 holed to go.

What a finish! Those two long putts were insane. Next weeks tournament will have its work cut out to match all the drama that had. I don't understand why Thomas was so stubborn about using that 3 wood to tee off. It was getting him in more trouble than it was worth. Just get the driver out and bomb it down there. So many times I see these pros playing it safe thinking they will just get in the fairway and they end up in the rough with a terrible lie.

cbolt wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:25 am What a finish! Those two long putts were insane. Next weeks tournament will have its work cut out to match all the drama that had. I don't understand why Thomas was so stubborn about using that 3 wood to tee off. It was getting him in more trouble than it was worth. Just get the driver out and bomb it down there. So many times I see these pros playing it safe thinking they will just get in the fairway and they end up in the rough with a terrible lie.

I didn't get to see any of the tournament, it sounds as if you saw quite a finish. Did Thomas just make a lot of mistakes on the last 3 holes of regulation, and Morikawa just took advantage of the situation ?

With five PGA events already in the books since The Covid-19 shutdown, the PGA will remain in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. When the coronavirus pandemic forced the shutdown of the sports world, the PGA cane up with the decision to scrap the John Deere tournament, and instead host back-to-back tournaments at Muirfield Village Golf in consecutive weeks. The PGA, which was planning to make the Memorial the first tournament of the adjusted schedule to have fans in the stands, amended those intentions with an announcement last week. There will be "No" fans allowed for any events for the remainder of the season due to the coronavirus spike across the country.

Vetteman I only caught the last 3 holes myself. Thomas used that 3 wood a lot esp. on 18 and he got in in once but missed all the others. On the last playoff hole he hit behind a tree and had to punch it out effectively ending the match since Morikawa did what he needed to do in regulation. Thomas also missed some crucial putts, at least one that would have ended it.

cbolt wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:48 am Vetteman I only caught the last 3 holes myself. Thomas used that 3 wood a lot esp. on 18 and he got in in once but missed all the others. On the last playoff hole he hit behind a tree and had to punch it out effectively ending the match since Morikawa did what he needed to do in regulation. Thomas also missed some crucial putts, at least one that would have ended it.

Thank you, I didn't see any of the tournament at all. I'm not a golfer, and I'm sure losing a 3 shot lead with 3 holes to play, has probably happened to the best of the golfers, and will no doubt happen again. Thomas has probably replayed those last 3 holes in his head numerous times since the tournament ended, and also probably has thought "What If' many times ?

Tiger Wood's appearance at the Memorial Tournament marks his 1st PGA Tour event in 5 month's, and the rust was evident in 2 rd at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Woods posted a 1-under 71 on Thursday, salvaging his Rd with 2-birdies in his final 4-holes, but after entering Friday in the red, the wheels fell off for Woods in the 2nd Rd. Their was a brief flicker of hope late Friday's Rd, as he finished the par-5 7th hole and the par-3 8th with a pair of birdies, placing him 1 stroke below the cut line at 2-over, but he couldn't close with a flurry. He finished the par-4 9th with par, ending his first 2 days at Memorial at 3-over. Wood's performance Friday put him right on the cut line, but was just enough to keep him in the field for the weekend. He last missed a cut in May 2019 at the PGA Championship at Bethpage.

Jon Rahm has built a 4-shot lead at the Memorial in his quest to be #1. Jon Rahm showed Saturday in the Memorial, why he is one of the most explosive players in golf with his clubs. A back 9 that capped off what he considers one of the best Rds of his career, gave Rahm a 4-under 68, as he turned a 4-shot deficit into a 4-shot lead and put the 25 yr old Spaniard on the verge of reaching #1 in the world. There was no panic, Rahm said he told his caddie on the 13th tee, If we can finish the last 6 holes under par, it will be a great finish. And whatever we have to do to make a comeback, we'll make a comeback.

VetteMan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:41 pm Jon Rahm has built a 4-shot lead at the Memorial in his quest to be #1. Jon Rahm showed Saturday in the Memorial, why he is one of the most explosive players in golf with his clubs. A back 9 that capped off what he considers one of the best Rds of his career, gave Rahm a 4-under 68, as he turned a 4-shot deficit into a 4-shot lead and put the 25 yr old Spaniard on the verge of reaching #1 in the world. There was no panic, Rahm said he told his caddie on the 13th tee, If we can finish the last 6 holes under par, it will be a great finish. And whatever we have to do to make a comeback, we'll make a comeback.

I have no details at all, as I just lost reception on my TV ( Dish Network, a bird must have flown over ) but I do know that Jon Rahm has won the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. I saw Jack Nicklas shaking hands with him, I have no idea at the margin by which he won, nor the order of finish.

The PGA Tour goes to Blaine, Minnesota this weekend, before bracing for two Big Events. The 3M Open will be televised on the Golf Channel Thursday thru Sunday. The defending Champion is Matthew Wolf. The purse this weekend is 6.6 million with the winner taking home 1,188,000. The FedEx Cup leader is Justin Thomas, while Jon Rahm won the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio last weekend.

VetteMan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:49 pm The PGA Tour goes to Blaine, Minnesota this weekend, before bracing for two Big Events. The 3M Open will be televised on the Golf Channel Thursday thru Sunday. The defending Champion is Matthew Wolf. The purse this weekend is 6.6 million with the winner taking home 1,188,000. The FedEx Cup leader is Justin Thomas, while Jon Rahm won the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio last weekend.

I didn't see any of the 3M Open today from Blaine, Minnesota, but I know who won the tournament. Michael Thompson finished with a 19 under par, with 4 Rd of 64, 66, 68, and 67 to win the top prize. Adam Long finished second at 17 under, 2 shots behind Thompson. Believe it or not, there was a 9 way tie for third place at 16 under.

What was supposed to be a primetime showdown on day 2 of the PGA championship turned out to be a bit of slog Friday night, however, the new leaser is Haotong Li, who could be the first man from China to ever win a PGA major championship.

The Third round of the PGA Championships is in the books, and we've got faces both familiar and new at the top of the leaderboard. An astounding 17 players are within 4 shots of the lead, setting up for a strong Sunday, but only four of them are prior major winners, meaning we could have a new member of golfs pantheon by Sunday night.

Tiger Woods runs out of gas, sputters in the third round of the PGA Championship. I'm not sure about the running out of gas, as I did not watch the 3rd Rd, but that's what the headline said. An unremarkable day turned ugly at the 8th hole, when Woods began a run of bogeying four of six holes that effectively bounced him from whatever faint hope that he might have had of competing this year. His putter so loyal to him on Thursday abandoned him completely. Woods said he couldn't make anything early, and I had some very poor shots that put myself in bad angles. I just couldn't make any putts to get any momentum going.

Collin Morikawa wins PGA Championship in stunning fashion. Morikawa fired a final round of 64 to claim his 1st Major Championship, in his 1st major appearance as a professional on Sunday with a performance as steady as you will ever see. He outlasted 6 different players who were tied with him at the top of the leaderboard. He unleashed the shot of a lifetime to put distance between himself and the field, and remained smooth and steady as he finished out the 2 most important holes of his life.

After talking the talk and failing to back it up with his play during the final round of the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka has a few words that he would like to take back. He drew criticism for some brash words following the third round, where he put the target on his former friend Dustin Johnson, and seemingly downplayed Johnson's career accomplishments.