'A big responsibility': Charity
match aims to set standard amid pandemic
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[May 15, 2020]
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Televised golf
returns in the United States on Sunday with caddies barred from the
course and a barrage of screening measures plus organisational
changes to ensure the players observe social distancing amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy teams up with Dustin Johnson to take
on American duo Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff for a $3 million
charity skins match, one of the rare live sports events available as
golf adapts to the COVID-19 era.
"We have a big responsibility," American Johnson told reporters on
Thursday. "Everyone is going to be watching what we're doing, so I
think it's very important for us to do it all correctly."
All the participants at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida,
will have been tested and then subjected to screening when they
arrive at the venue, with the PGA Tour mandating social distancing
throughout the event.
Players will not be able to have any contact with each other -
ruling out handshakes and high fives - and although they do not have
to wear masks during play, they must put them on off the course when
social distancing is not possible.
Bunker rakes have been removed from the course and everyone on the
property will be given sanitizer and sanitary wipes.
Without caddies, competitors will also have to carry their own
clubs.
"I haven't carried my own bag since I can't remember when," said
Johnson, who will play without his longtime caddie, his brother
Austin. "Feel like I'm in good enough shape to carry my bag around
for 18 holes without it being a problem."
RELIEF EFFORTS
The event, which will benefit COVID-19 relief efforts, comes amid
upheaval in the professional sports calendar, with three of the
golf's four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled due to
the coronavirus outbreak.
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Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer Northern Ireland's McIlroy
drives ball during first round of 2005 Irish Open golf tournament
near Dublin. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Fowler, the runner-up at the 2018 Masters, and 21-year-old Wolff,
who got his first PGA tour win last year, are widely considered the
underdogs against 2016 U.S. Open winner Johnson and four-time major
champion McIlroy.
"We'll take the underdog spot but -- when that day comes, basically
it's a toss-up on who's got the hot putter, and could be just a
battle throughout the day," said Fowler.
"We're going to go tee it up and try and beat up on each other as
bad as possible but have some fun."
The PGA Tour is set to resume next month in a fanless setting for
the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, with players and
caddies facing a host of tests.
Asked how he would feel returning to competition in June, the
35-year-old Johnson said, "Everything is going to be weird.
"It's going to be so different for us from what we're used to," he
added. "I haven't really thought about what the weirdest thing will
be, but it's all just going to be different."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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