McDowell: "If we get to a point where we have to shut it down, it's very difficult to see where we come back"
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan leaves the clubhouse after a virtual press conference during a practice round for the Travelers Championship on June 24, 2020 at the TPC River Highlands on June 24, 2020 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Graeme McDowell fears that the PGA Tour could struggle to get going again if they “lose control” and are forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Portrush man was one of a five COVID-19 related player withdrawals from this week's Travelers Championship in Connecticut alongside his caddie Ken Comboy (positive), world No 4 Brooks Koepka (precaution), Koepka's Irish caddie Ricky Elliott (positive), Koepka's brother Chase (precaution), Cameron Champ (positive) and world No 4 Webb Simpson (precaution), who had a family member test positive.
There have been seven positive tests from the 2,757 administered across the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour, but while commissioner Jay Monahan is threatening "serious repercussions" for those who do not take the safety guidelines seriously, he's determined to press on with business.
"I think we all need to remind ourselves that we're all learning to live with this virus, and we all need to learn to live with this virus, both as individuals, as family members and certainly within our businesses," Monahan said. "It's pretty clear that this virus isn't going anywhere."
Monahan admitted that he himself had been guilty of breaking the protocols — pictures of him fist-bumping with players such as Rory McIlroy and Kevin Kisner are circulating on social media.
.@pgatour commish Jay Monahan: “Practice social distancing. Don’t fist bump.”
— Rachel Bleier (@Rachel_Bleier) June 24, 2020
Also Jay Monahan: pic.twitter.com/Eq5dBcFQlO
"I think over the first couple weeks, we've seen some instances where let's say, we've gotten a little bit lax or away from protocol," Monahan said when asked, in the wake of the withdrawals from the Travelers Championship, if everyone inside the bubble had taken the pandemic as seriously as he had.
"Full disclosure: I've done it myself, and I think that's the kind of tightening that we need to do in order to make sure we continue to be in a good position to move forward."
While many players, caddies, coaches and officials are sticking to the rules, many are not.
The fact that Florida, where many players are based, is an epicentre of infection similar to its last two tournament stops, Texas and South Carolina, the Tour will clearly suffer more virus-related withdrawals
The question remains: When do you shout, stop?
Asked if there was a threshold that would force the PGA Tour to call a halt, McDowell told Golf Channel: "Very tough to tell. I am sure they have a number in mind. I think it's the second they lose control, well, a perceived control, of being able to keep the players as safe as possible.
"This shutting golf down. If it got to the point of shutting golf down, what happens next? How do we come back from that? Because COVID-19 is not going away any time soon. If we get to a point where we have to shut it down, it's very difficult to see where we come back in the future."
McDowell was at pains to point out that he trusts the PGA Tour, who he believes are doing the best they can to keep everyone safe.
“ I think it’s the second they lose control, well, a perceived control, of being able to keep the players as safe as possible.”
But the events that have unfolded over the past few days throw the entire operation into doubt.
In practical terms, the PGA Tour has decided to tighten its control over the situation and reviewed its health and safety policy.
Players and caddies who take the Tour's chartered flights will continue to get tested on the Saturday before departure. But they will also be tested upon arrival at the new venue.
Personal coaches and instructors are now going to be tested like the players and considered "inside the bubble."
Pros are now discouraged from using local gyms and fitness centres and asked to use a fitness trailer at the tournament site, where masks will be obligatory.
If a PGA Tour player tests positive for the coronavirus and it is discovered that he did not follow the safety protocols, he will no longer be eligible for a $100,000 stipend issued by the Tour.
As for McDowell, he was driving home to Orlando last night to self-isolate.
"I'm just going to take the scenic route down the East Coast of the USA for about 17 hours and increase my knowledge of US geography a bit," said McDowell, who played a practice round with Shane Lowry, Elliott and the Koepka brothers in Hartford earlier this week..
Koepka and McDowell withdrew after their caddies both tested positive.
Koepka's bagman Ricky Elliott was discovered to have contracted the disease when being tested after McDowell pulled out to protect the rest of the field.
It is understood that Elliott, a long-time friend of McDowell's, joined his fellow countryman and his caddie Ken Comboy in a six-hour car trip from Orlando to South Carolina last Monday.
Comboy believes he picked up Covid-19 on a commercial flight following the Tour's first restart in Fort Worth in Texas two weeks ago.
After last week's first round of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head - where Nick Watney became the first player to test positive - Comboy began to suffer from a sore throat.
The pair missed the cut and made the 350-mile drive back to Orlando, where McDowell lives. But on Saturday, the Tour informed Comboy he should return to South Carolina to be tested and on Tuesday that came back as positive.
"For the protection of the field and for my own physical and mental well-being, I'm going to take a test tomorrow morning then jump on a private plane," McDowell told Golfweek.
“I'm going to get myself out of here, home to Florida and decide whether I need to quarantine myself from my family. We (Kenny and himself) are a close-knit team. We roomed together last week, we spent six hours in a car. He's carrying the virus so in some way I have to be carrying it too."
On Tuesday, McDowell played a practice round with Koepka, who also came into contact with Watney on the day his infection was confirmed. "I'm going to pull out to protect everybody else. I think it's the right thing to do,"
Koepka said. "I don't want to risk anyone's life."
McDowell sounded a note of caution. "I think we're trying to do our best out here to mitigate the risk, but at the end of the day it's impossible to mitigate 100 per cent of the risk," he said. "The bubble is speculative at best. It's hard for the Tour, even with all their resources, to control everyone all the time."
Speaking to Golf Channel last night, McDowell confirmed that he's convinced he is carrying the virus.
"I just didn't feel myself last week at Hilton Head. Just fatigue generally. I put it down to being back on the road grinding after a few months off and felt some general tiredness. But then, my traps started aching, and my body started aching a little bit. I decided to rest last weekend and recharge, but when Kenny failed his test, I had to start weighing up the amount of time I have spent with Ken in the last 10 days. We travelled to Hilton Head in a car, travelled back from Hilton Head in the same car, stayed in the same house last week, living in each other's pockets basically.
"I found it difficult to believe as contagious as this thing seems to be, that I don't have it. I understand, I have been tested twice this week, and both tests were negative, but I really find it difficult to believe I don't have it so in the best interests of the whole field in Connecticut and for the next few weeks, I felt it was better to get myself out of there and make sure I am healthy."
Asked about playing with the Koepka's, Lowry and Elliott, he said: "Brooks and I were texting back and forth, and I have spoken a lot with Ricky. Shane Lowry (and temporary caddie Darren Reynolds) was also in the group with us, and I spoke to Shane last night (Tue) and this morning (Wed) again.
"First of all, you feel apologetic for putting these guys in harm's way. Before we played yesterday, I certainly had no idea that Kenny could fail the test and then afterwards when you get the news, you're like, 'Man, did I put these guys at risk."
“That side of things kind of worries me going forward. That guys can be running around carrying this thing, and the tests are not showing it.”
While Elliott tested negative on Monday, he was positive on Wednesday, and that's what worries McDowell.
"It's bizarre to me that you can be carrying it and it can be undetectable for a period of time within your body and then all of a sudden it can pop, and you can test positive.
"That side of things kind of worries me going forward. That guys can be running around carrying this thing, and the tests are not showing it.
"But like Jay said in his press conference, it's the new normal, and we have to learn how to live with this thing and do the best we can going forward.
"We want golf to be back for the long term. This is not a four, five, six-event deal that we are trying to get done here. We are trying to get the game of golf back permanently. So anything we can do to stay healthy, I think the players are all for it.
"If there was a question of the guard being down the first couple of weeks, with more positive tests this week, guys are having to respect this, even if they weren't taking it seriously enough at the beginning.
"Guys are doing their best and caddies are trying to be hygienic with flags and rakes, but it is so easy to let your guard down for a second and forget what's going on. We are just out there playing golf with no crowds, and it's easy to forget for a second that we are going through one of the most crazy pandemics in the history of the world."
The positive tests and withdrawals led the PGA Tour to cancel all the planned afternoon press conferences.
That meant no chance to discover if Rory McIlroy stood over his criticism of the absentees from the first few PGA Tour events or had had a rethink, as suggested by the absentee Lee Westwood.
"I mean, if you really care about your career and care about moving forward, you should be here, I think," McIlroy said.
Given what's happened, staying away from the US looks like an inspired decision right now.
