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KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA | There may never be an official declaration of when tournament golf returns to the size and sounds that defined it pre-pandemic.
At least unofficially, a return to “normal” happened at the Ocean Course for the PGA Championship.
Allow government and tournament officials to stick to their stories of a daily limit of 10,000 tickets sold, but the galleries at the Ocean Course were big, beery and back.
“They have been awesome,” Jordan Spieth said.
Masks?
It was easier to spot an alligator than a mask-wearing fan walking the sandy paths or camping out in the hospitality chalets that framed the 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
Similar to daily life around the United States, tournament golf has been creeping back toward a more familiar look and feel in recent weeks. It seemed to turn a corner at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, where Rory McIlroy won with thousands packed on the hillside along the 18th hole on Sunday afternoon.
With Phil Mickelson taking the literal and emotional lead in the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course, it felt like a golf-themed beach party.
“This is fun,” Joel Dahmen said. “I guess we all didn’t realize how much we needed the fans.”
The PGA Tour is allowing more fans at events – the Memorial Tournament announced last week that all fans on the waiting list for tickets to the event at Muirfield Village in two weeks will be allowed to attend – and the tour will end weekly testing for COVID-19 in June as more players are fully vaccinated.
There remains a question as to how many spectators will attend the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines next month. It will be a limited number but how limited remains uncertain.
At the Ocean Course last week, it looked, felt and sounded like a major championship.
“It’s been lonely out here on Tour, and it’s awesome to have fans back and just the feel of a major and a normal tournament,” Kevin Streelman said. “It’s good to get that feeling, that mojo back.”
Ron Green Jr.