PGA Tour makes subdued return with moment of silence
The 8:46 tee time will be left blank and a moment of silence observed throughout all four rounds of the July 11-14 tournament
Players stopped for a moment of silence to honour George Floyd as the PGA Tour’s return following a three-month forced coronavirus hiatus got off to a subdued start on Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
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At 8:46 CT the horns sounded three times at stately Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas and across the sun-kissed layout players stopped in their tracks to honour Floyd, a black American man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
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With no spectators allowed on the course it was a solemn scene as golfers and their caddies, heads bowed, stood silently on greens, tees, fairways and the practice range.
The 8:46 tee time will be left blank and a moment of silence observed throughout all four rounds of the July 11-14 tournament.
Eight minutes and 46 seconds is the length of time that Floyd was filmed pinned under the officer’s knee.
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“The PGA Tour commits to amplifying the voices and efforts to end systemic issues of social racial injustice. We have reserved the 8:46 tee time to pause for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection. Thank you,” said PGA Tour president Jay Monahan in a brief remark from the first tee just before the horn sounded.
As golfers went back to work for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak forced a shutdown of the PGA Tour in mid-March, it was anything but business as usual.
Golfers have undergone mandatory testing prior to teeing off and are expected to follow a long list of social-distancing guidelines while out on the course, including selecting and replacing their own clubs from the bag.
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While players were excited to be back, with no fans present, there was none of the buzz normally washing over a tournament boasting a major-like field headlined by world number one Rory McIlroy and the world’s top-five ranked players.
The featured group of McIlroy, world number two Spaniard Jon Rahm and number three Brooks Koepka, who tee off 1:06 p.m. CT (1806 GMT), would normally attract a massive gallery but will instead only have themselves for company.
As first-round play got underway, Britain’s Justin Rose showed no signs of a layoff as he jumped into the early lead, picking up three birdies on his opening four holes to get to three-under.
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