On March 12, 2020, the sports world stood still. The NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS all suspended their seasons. The NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring championships. The PGA Tour canceled The Players and its next three events.
In one day, the coronavirus pandemic ended sports as we knew them.
The Texas Golf Association was among the hundreds of non-professional sports organizations forced to make the same difficult decisions about the future of their schedules. Ultimately, the TGA canceled 11 events and put the 2020 golf season on hold.
However, much like the rest of the sports world, the TGA was determined to return to competition safely. With the health of players, staff, volunteers and the public in mind, the TGA leadership decided to return to competitive golf in June.
“Once the official guidance allowed for organized group golf to move forward, we wanted to provide an opportunity for golfers to return to competition while ensuring the safety of everyone involved,” TGA Executive Director Stacy Dennis said. “In addition to focusing on expert guidance for safe participation, we were committed to making sure our events could be conducted at the elite level we strive for and in full alignment with the Rules of Golf.”
The TGA worked tirelessly to preserve as much of the 2020 season as possible. To help offset the canceled events, seven new events were added to the competitive schedule. During a season when uncertainty loomed, the TGA and Legends Junior Tour safely conducted 44 multi-day championships, 36 18-hole qualifiers and 153 competitive rounds of golf. In fact, the Legends Junior Tour completed an entire season, with only the Bluebonnet Championship having to be rescheduled from its original dates in May to Sept. 26-27.
“It has been so great to see the buy-in mentality from everyone,” TGA Director of Competitions John Cochran said. “We knew that if we didn’t modify the way we have been accustomed to running events to mirror the changing times, we wouldn’t be able to conduct events. We developed our game plan based on the state guidelines. Everyone understood that this was how we would be able to provide the opportunity to continue playing competitive golf across the state.”
The TGA valued the competition, but not without strict health protocols at each event. In May, a working group of the TGA Championship Committee developed significant guidelines to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.
“From the very beginning, before organized golf was an option, the group of players, staff, Board of Directors and Rules officials developed objective criteria through which every decision and policy would have to pass,” Dennis said. “We had lots of healthy conversation and constructive debate.”
The new policies included temperature screenings, digital scorecards, hand sanitizer and gloves placed at water cooler stations, no bunker rakes, required flagsticks remain in the hole, increased time gaps between tee times and required all staff and volunteers to wear a face covering.
“We were really cognizant of what we had to think about and do,” TGA Director of Competitions Kellen Kubasak said. “The Championship Committee wanted to ensure our staff could still conduct a championship with the same professionalism and excellence our players have come to expect, but with the safety of each player as the top priority.”
After state and local health officials determined golf was a safe activity, the TGA and Legends Junior Tour first returned to competitive golf at the 21st Veritex Bank Byron Nelson Junior Championship at Lakewood Country Club from June 2-4.
The week culminated with the crowning of J. Holland Humphries as the 2020 champion. It was a breath of fresh air to be back on the golf course, and the TGA’s commitment to conducting safe and competitive events never wavered the rest of the season.
“Throughout the season, as COVID-19 mandates changed, our Championship Committee and staff were committed to adapt and adjust on the fly,” Kubasak said. “We worked extremely hard to protect the field as we slowly returned closer to normalcy.”
In total, the TGA hosted 33 multi-day events between June and December. Those included the 99th Women’s Texas Amateur, won by Bentley Cotton at the University of Texas Golf Club; the 94th Texas Junior Amateur, won by Zach Heffernan and Lauren Nguyen at Horseshoe Bay Resort and the 111th Texas Amateur, won by Trey Bosco at Boot Ranch.
“The quality of tournaments the TGA and LJT ran this summer were amazing with everything going on,” said Bosco, a freshman golfer at Baylor University. “Everyone did their part to make sure the tournaments were competitive and that everyone stayed safe while playing in the events.”
Despite the disruptions in their seasons, many sports made a similar return to competition. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second Stanley Cup Finals on Sept. 28. The NBA crowned the Los Angeles Lakers as the World Champions on Oct. 11. And the Los Angeles Dodgers ended a 32-year World Series drought on Oct. 27.
Each unique return required dedicated employees, volunteers, athletes and government officials. Although sports look differently than they did nine months ago, they were a special escape from the unprecedented challenges the world faced in 2020.
It was a season defined by uncertainty, commitment and success. It was one the TGA will never forget.
“I honestly cannot imagine a group of people doing better work, and I am more proud of our team than I can express,” Dennis said. “I saw incredible creativity and flexibility as we worked to reach the best solutions we could. Once our plans came together, and then as they changed over and over again, I saw commitment to the promise we made to value the health of our participants above all else.”
To learn more about the TGA’s return to golf in 2020, watch video here. To view the 2021 schedule, click here.