Scott, Woods miss star-studded PGA return

The PGA Tour will continue at Fort Worth next week after the coronavirus shutdown, but Tiger Woods will not be there.

By Australian Associated Press
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Australian world No.6 Adam Scott and Masters champion Tiger Woods are among few stars that will be missing when the PGA Tour returns after three months.

The 148-man field for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial features the top five golfers in the world - Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.

The only players from the top 10 who are not playing are Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood - Scott and Fleetwood live overseas and would have faced a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

With Scott unavailable, world No.15 Marc Leishman will be the highest ranked Australian competing at Fort Worth along with fellow top 100 compatriots Cameron Smith, Jason Day and Matt Jones.

Woods, the biggest name in world golf, chose not to play.

He has only played Colonial once, in 1997, when he was going for his third straight victory and shot 72 in the final round to finish three shots behind.

The tour shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of sports, after the opening round of The Players Championship on March 12.

The return requires players to be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival and, for those taking a charter to the next tournament at Hilton Head, another test before they leave.

They will also have daily thermal readings and health questionnaires. That also applies to caddies and what the tour deems essential personnel.

Despite the missing names, the field features 18 of the top 25 in the world, giving it a strength-of-field comparable to a World Golf Championship.

The tour returns, if all goes according to plan, to a full schedule for the rest of the year.

Colonial marks the first of 27 tournaments over a 26-week period through to December 6.

That schedule includes three majors.


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