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While the rhythm of tournament golf is settling back in – Dustin Johnson won Sunday for the first time in more than a year – it also remains clear there is no way around the realities that have come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tour fields are being impacted as testing turns up more positive reports. And now, it appears increasingly likely, one of the game's highest-profile and most-anticipated events may not make it to the starter's stand.
An announcement could come this week that the Ryder Cup set for this fall at Whistling Straits will have to be pushed back until 2021. It will be the right call, Ron Green Jr. posits, but doing the right thing will leave an empty feeling.
And in another jolt to another of golf's signature events, word began to filter out late Sunday that the USGA and Fox Sports are dissolving their massive TV deal, including the upcoming U.S. Open.
While DJ held on for his 21st PGA Tour title with a one-stroke victory ahead of Kevin Streelman at the Travelers Championship, what's becoming a steady stream of pandemic-related withdrawals is impossible to ignore.
But, as John Hopkins tells us, not all golf-related fallout from the pandemic has turned out terribly. In the UK, clubs are reporting boosted memberships and businesses show reason for optimism.
In recent months, Sean Fairholm says, entrepreneur Kai Soto has launched a website where those with success stories to share are grouped along a common theme. They all involve learning vital lessons from their time working as a caddie.
Meanwhile, a new First Tee facility is on the way in Ohio, and Jim Nugent says it has the potential to set a new standard in bringing underprivileged youth to the game.
And in this week's installment of the Divot, Reese Wallace recounts his initial, non-traditional connection to the game, one forged with equal doses of comedic sibling rivalry and family bonding.
Sam Dolson
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