Berger a winner at Colonial, and PGA Tour feels like it, too

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The PGA Tour spent two months learning about the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to develop a safe plan to return, followed by another month hoping for the best.

Commissioner Jay Monahan said his confidence in the plan came with a dose of uncertainty.

“If we … got into a situation where we were dealing with a number of positive tests, that’s something — candidly — that I lost a lot of sleep over in the weeks that preceded coming,” Monahan said.

Monahan felt every bit a winner as Daniel Berger at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The tour administered 487 tests for the new coronavirus at Colonial, and the results on all of them came back negative. On the golf course, a dozen of some of golf’s best players — from Rory McIlroy to Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele to Jordan Spieth — all had a chance going into the final round.

“Listen, there is more work to be done,” Monahan said. “But this is a phenomenal start to our return.”

It was a healthy return, except for a somewhat sickly finish.

Berger made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and heard the deafening silence of a big moment with no spectators allowed at Colonial. He got into a playoff when Collin Morikawa missed a 6-foot birdie putt for the win and Xander Schauffele missed his try from 25 feet.

The playoff was held on the 17th hole, another reminder of how this week was different. Playoffs always start on the 18th hole because that’s where the gallery is packed into the grandstands. With no fans allowed, and with the 17th tee right next to the clubhouse, off they went.

Morikawa hit a deft chip to 3 feet. Berger chipped even closer from behind the green and rapped in his par. They presumably were headed to the 18th tee until Morikawa’s 3-footer spun out, and Berger was the winner.

Schauffele should have been in the playoff, but his 3-footer for par on the 17th in regulation dipped in the right side of the cup and spun out of the left side. Talk about a horrible horseshoe.

“If there are fans and everything with the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ I’d probably be a little more (ticked) off,” Schauffele said. “Maybe that’s a good thing for me right now. But it was definitely weird.”

Justin Rose had an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th that looked good all the way until it wasn’t. He finished one behind along with Bryson DeChambeau and Jason Kokrak, who also missed birdie chances on the last hole.

This isn’t the first time Rose or anyone else has missed a big putt. It wasn’t the first time Rose let out a gutteral moan from missing. It was just the first time he actually heard it.

“If the crowd are there, their groans or cries, whatever it may be, would have drowned me out,” Rose said. “You suddenly realize you actually do make some noise sometimes yourself. And it surprised me a little bit there on 18.”

There were reminders all week of no fans, but rarely why golf had been shut down since March 12 because of the rapid spread of COVID-19, a pandemic that canceled one major (British Open) and postponed the others until later in the year.

“The only time I thought about it was when I was having to take the tests, and that was really it,” Keith Mitchell said. “Hopefully, nobody comes down with it and we can keep on playing.”

Players on the charter to the next stop — Hilton Head on the South Carolina shore — had to swing by the pool area at Colonial after the third round for a saliva test. If negative, they board the plane and don’t have to be tested at Hilton Head. Everyone else driving, flying commercial or flying private face another test when they arrive.

Tony Finau learned a new skill beyond chipping and putting. He learned to spit for his test.

“You just kind of roll your tongue around inside your mouth, and it seems to bring a little bit more, and also if you just lean your face down, it seems to come out a little easier,” he said.

So few talking about the virus was an indication of how safe it felt. In this case, the week doesn’t end until the next tournament begins.

“I was asked, ‘What’s a successful week look like?’ It means us getting to the RBC Heritage and having another successful week,” he said. “I feel very good about the setup there, and we’re ready to go again.”

Monahan had said as the tour prepared to return that it was critical not to fall into a trap that all is well. He said he wouldn’t feel comfortable until told he could be comfortable, and likely would mean a vaccine.

Morikawa said being back to golf and being back to normal were different matters.

“Just because we played one week doesn’t mean we can go party and go do everything else like we used to,” Morikawa said. “We still have to follow these guidelines and maintain safety and strict rules with how far we stay from each other because it’s still out there.

“We just have to be cognizant of what’s around us and where we put ourselves, because we want the tour to keep playing.