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Amid a rash of further tournament postponements and cancellations last week – including the deferral of May’s PGA Championship to a hoped-for summer date in San Francisco – it was possible for golfers to perceive silver linings as the coronavirus pandemic altered lives worldwide. With modifications, such as the PVC piping Pinehurst Resort installed in its holes to help prevent players from touching flagsticks and cups, golfers in many corners of the globe continue to play recreationally while maintaining social distance. And the pro game’s sudden halt has given players and fans something many have argued for – an offseason – writes Ron Green Jr.
It was a surreal scene in Palm Harbor, Fla., last week, where instead of fans rooting for the likes of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson at the Valspar Championship, the grandstands at Innisbrook Resort were being prematurely dismantled. But despite their disappointment about the tournament’s cancellation, tournament officials waxed optimistic.
In addition to scuttling professional tournaments, the coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of World Golf Hall of Famer Betsy King’s annual Phoenix pro-am to benefit Golf Fore Africa and its life-giving work delivering fresh water to rural villagers in the African nation of Zambia, writes Steve Eubanks.
Though the pandemic may have interrupted tournament play, nothing need get in the way of the “sitting and thinking” sessions which have worked for one generation of golf addicts after another, writes Lewine Mair.
The European Tour last week announced the postponement of tournaments in Spain and Denmark while canceling another in Portugal.
The postponement of the 2020 Masters has left amateurs who earned exemptions into the field at Augusta National with an intriguing dilemma, writes Sean Fairholm.
A long-ago realization that he couldn’t beat Phil Mickelson contributed to Eric Eshleman’s decision to become a PGA professional, a career that has produced dividends that include being named the PGA of America’s 2019 Golf Professional of the Year, writes John Steinbreder.
A man many regard as the first celebrity CEO died recently, but he also should be remembered as a great golf guy, this week’s installment of The Divot suggests.
Mike Cullity
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