Pga tour
No. 1 Johnson returns after COVID-19 as Masters looms
The 36-year-old American missed last month's CJ Cup and Zozo tournaments after contracting the deadly virus, halting a run of strong play and pushing him to...
The American finished with a flourish, shooting 68 in the final round to win by 3 shots ahead of Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas.
Mickelson carded a five-under-par 66 in the final round for a 22-under 191 total that left him four shots clear of fellow American Tim Petrovic.
The Masters had already been pushed back from its traditional April slot due to the pandemic and will now take place from 12-15 November.
Royal Montreal, the oldest golf club in North America, held the Canadian Open on 10 occasions, most recently in 2014, and was home of the 2007 Presidents Cup.
McIlroy, who is in the field for the PGA Tour’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational this week, will play in the U.S. Open in September but has hinted he may not take part in the European Tour’s Scottish Open or BMW PGA Championship in October.
The 44-year-old reigning Masters champion is one victory shy of a PGA Tour record 83 wins and last competed in February, before being sidelined with back issues.
The hotly-contested biennial team competition between the United States and Europe, known for its raucous, partisan crowds, was originally scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits. It will now be held Sept. 24-26, 2021.
World number four Koepka and 2010 U.S. Open winner McDowell, who competed on the PGA Tour the last two weeks, both tested negative but decided to skip the PGA Tour’s third tournament back from a COVID-19 hiatus out of caution.
The PGA Tour, which only restarted last week after a three-month COVID-19-forced hiatus, confirmed its first positive test, removing Nick Watney from second-round play at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The Official World Golf Ranking decided to unfreeze the ranking with last week’s resumption of the PGA Tour even though competitors on the European Tour cannot preserve their ranking at home since action remains on hold.
Daniel Berger emerged from a tightly-bunched leaderboard to win the tournament after beating fellow American Collin Morikawa in a playoff.
Four players, including world number four Justin Thomas, were locked in a tie for third at six under. World number one Rory McIlroy had an unremarkable round to finish two under and tied for 39th.
Woods’ lone Colonial appearance was in 1997 but there was a sense he would return this year given the long layoff since the PGA Tour shut down in mid-March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The USGA said that while the tournament was moving forward, qualifying was 'not viable' due to safety concerns.
Rory McIlroy, whose four titles last year included the Tour and Players championships, liked the safeguards outlined Wednesday by the PGA, including coronavirus tests and events played without spectators.
With the global golf season in chaos due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game's administrators are running through a range of possible scenarios as they attempt to plot a path back to competition.
Waugh told New York's WFAN radio that while a Ryder Cup without spectators was "hard to imagine," PGA officials were looking to see if the event could be held with "virtual fans."
Anthony Fauci, who is helping coordinate the US response to the global coronavirus pandemic, said reliable antibody testing and fast results are also crucial to the return of sports.