After a three-month hiatus, the PGA Tour returns Thursday for the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
The state of play: No fans will be in attendance, production crews will be limited and players will be asked to adhere to health and safety guidelines released last month.
How to watch: Golf Channel has full coverage from 4 to 7pm ET, and you can watch featured groups from 7:45a to 7pmET on PGA Tour Live.
- Another option: Athletes, celebrities and media companies will broadcast their own live commentary on Twitter from 1 to 2:30pm ET. Got money on Rory? Tune into the Action Network's betting-centric broadcast. Fan of the women's game? Flip to the LPGA broadcast, featuring Annika Sorenstam.
Details:
- The course: Colonial Country Club is the longest-running host of a non-major PGA Tour event played at its original site (the first tournament was held there in 1946). It's known for its narrow, tree-lined fairways and numerous doglegs.
- The field: Stacked. 17 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Rankings will be in the field, including the top five players: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.
- Groups to watch: McIlroy, Rahm, Koepka (2:06pm ET); Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth (1:55pm ET); Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose (8:45am ET); Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland (8:56am ET)
The state of play: Players, caddies and essential personnel were tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and the PGA Tour said all 487 tests came back negative.
- On the course, players will be expected to practice social distancing and "show best practices for playing golf to our fans watching the telecast."
Yes, but: In Wednesday's practice round, players and caddies exchanged clubs (players are supposed to handle the clubs themselves) and caddies frequently forgot to wipe down flagsticks and bunker rakes after use.
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