By Joel Beall
After missing two of the past three majors, Rickie Fowler will be in the field for the 149th Open Championship that begins in eight days. But like a growing number of players, Fowler doesn’t sound ecstatic about the framework in place to compete for the claret jug.

Last month the R&A announced it would welcome 32,000 per day to Royal St. George’s to mark the Open’s return following last summer’s cancellation. While that attendance figure signals a somewhat return to pre-COVID normalcy, the restrictions in play for those in the tournament strike a different tone. Last week the R&A sent a five-page update to players, caddies, agents and coaches regarding health and safety protocols, an update that received a harsh response from those constituents, many believing said protocols were too stringent. Fowler joined that chorus with his comments following the third round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Fowler’s Thursday playing partner, Hideki Matsuyama, was forced to withdraw from the Detroit event after registering a positive COVID-19 test. In response to a question asking if his proximity to Matsuyama worried Fowler in regard to his Open status, Fowler initially waved it off, only to underline his frustrations with the R&A’s guidelines.

“No. I mean, I’m vaccinated or whatever you want to call the shots,” Fowler said after a third-round 68. “I guess they’re not — they’re vaccines, but unfortunately I know going over there, it doesn’t matter if you’re vaccinated or not.

“Yeah, there’s definitely some concerns. Guys have been talking to me or have been talking to other guys, been making calls or sending texts back and forth with some of the people with the Open just with any questions or concerns that we have because there’s multiple things that come up as far as if there happens to be a couple people on the plane that test positive when you get there, you know, what happens with that. Obviously, we’re all going into our own small bubbles, can’t be around other players.”

Fowler ended his comments by pointing out, to him, a bit of hypocrisy in play with the R&A’s protocols: “It seems like us as players, we’re jumping through some hurdles and dodging bullets and they’re having 32,000 fans a day at the tournament, so I don’t know. I can’t really answer questions clearly with all that going on.”

Though there have been worries about players skipping the event due to the restrictions, only two players—Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim—have publicly dropped out of the competition, but their decisions were spurred by a focus on the Olympics rather than protocol concerns.

In response to some of the protocol backlash the R&A issued this statement to Golf Digest last week: “Our absolute priority is maintaining the safety of the players, fans and all involved in the Open and we are doing as much as we can to minimize the risks. We fully recognize the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and that case numbers are rising in many parts of the country. The U.K. has strict contact tracing legislation in place and we are creating a minimized risk environment to protect players, caddies, officials and staff. It is extremely important that we all follow the protocols. The players and their management teams have been very accommodating and appreciate the challenges that the pandemic is creating for all of us.”

The post Rickie Fowler voices displeasure on Open Championship COVID-19 protocols appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
The USGA announced on Monday that it will allow a limited number of spectators to attend the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, June 17-20, and the U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, June 3-6.

“Last year, we missed the energy that fans bring to our U.S. Open championships,” John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director of championships, said in a press release. “We are grateful to our local and state health and safety officials in California to be in a position to welcome some fans back this year to witness the greatest players in the world contending for these prestigious championships while working to maintain the health and safety of all involved.”

Among the protocols the USGA is requiring for those who attend: State of California residents must show proof that vaccination against COVID-19 has occurred at least 14 days prior to the championships or that a negative test result has been received; and it will be mandatory for all out-of-state fans to provide proof that vaccination against COVID-19 has occurred at least 14 days prior to the championship. Fans, workers and volunteers will have to wear face coverings on-site at all times.

In a letter the USGA sent on Monday to U.S. Open ticket holders, it informs them that all current ticket holders will receive a refund to the credit card they used for their original purchase. Further, it says that there will be a limited number of tickets available for those who meet the health requirements, and interested parties must fill out a linked form by Thursday, April 22, to be considered. The USGA said three separate allotments will be released: for USGA members (on April 26); for those who originally bought tickets using an American Express card (on April 28); and for Victory Club members (April 30). The USGA did not identify in the letter how many tickets would be available.

After having to postpone its two largest championships last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USGA faced difficult circumstances this year because the events were scheduled for California, which has had stricter pandemic guidelines and has been slower than some regions to return to more open forms of business and recreation.

Last week, USGA CEO Mike Davis told Golf Digest that the most difficult obstacle was transportation—that the state was not going to allow the USGA to use buses to transport large numbers of fans and workers to the two Open sites. That restriction made it impossible to stage any form of large-scale tournaments, with the USGA having to use only parking that is near the site of the respective golf courses.

At Torrey Pines, Davis said it’s likely that the total count for all people on site will be no more than 10,000, with fewer possible. Torrey Pines has its North Course and the nearby University of California-San Diego to use for parking. The U.S. Women’s Open and Olympic Club are even more isolated, with the Ocean Course at Olympic now expected to be used for parking for the tournament, while the Lake Course hosts the golf.

Tickets had been sold for both Opens, and the USGA said on Monday that those who have purchased tickets will receive direct communication from the USGA with additional details. It said information on tickets for each event is available at uswomensopen.com and usopen.com.

The post USGA allowing limited fans at U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, but will require COVID-19 vaccinations or negative test results appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
After taking Thanksgiving off, the LPGA Tour returns this week at the Volunteers of America Classic outside of Dallas, the first of three final events in 2020. But it will do so without one high-profile player. Brittany Lincicome, a two-time major winner, announced on social media that she has withdrawn from the event after stating that she tested positive for COVID-19.

Lincicome’s positive result came while at her home last week. The LPGA Tour’s testing protocols involve testing players before they travel to an event and then again when they arrive on site.

Though Lincicome’s test came back positive, she was happy to report that both her husband and her daughter have tested negative.

“I am now self-isolating and working on contract tracing with all those I have been in contact with,” Lincicome wrote on Instagram. “I have mild symptoms but am very disappointed to have to withdraw from the Volunteers of America Classic. I will be isolating at home until it is safe to resume my schedule. I wish everyone the best of luck and look forward to when I can return to playing on Tour.”

The 35-year-old has played in nine events since the LPGA restart this summer, her best finish coming at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a T-9 showing.

The week after the Volunteers of America Classic is the last major of 2020, the U.S. Women’s Open, followed by the CME Group Tour Championship. Lincicome ranks 67th in the Race to the CME standings, with the top 70 earning invitations to the year-end event where the winner earns a $1.1 million first-place prize.

The post Brittany Lincicome tests positive for COVID-19, withdraws from Volunteers of America Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Tod Leonard
Depending on where you are in the spectrum of pro golf as entertainment, you either love or hate the 16th hole scene at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. You either cheer the groundbreaking ingenuity and almost comical raucousness of “the Coliseum,” or you roll your eyes with disgust at how the reaction to single golf shots can make it sound as if a hockey fight broke out on the tee.

Either way, the 16th at TPC Scottsdale in the PGA Tour’s visit there each year is a theatre like none of other in the game, and that’s why there will be something decidedly different when the pros play there in the first weekend of February.

As of today, the host organisation of the Phoenix Open, the Thunderbirds, say they are still determined to have a good-sized crowd at 16 for the four days of the event, but it will be significantly scaled back—and no doubt quieter—than in recent years.

To have fans at all will be an anomaly on the 2021 West Coast Swing, with the Farmers Insurance Open on Monday announcing that it was joining the Sony Open in Hawaii and American Express in La Quinta, Calif., in not allowing spectators. The Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles are expected to follow suit.

Scott Jenkins, the Thunderbirds’ chairman of the tournament for 2021, said on Monday that plans remain in place to build a one-story structure to accommodate fans at the 16th, though it will be noticeably smaller than what has essentially been a three-story stadium around the hole. In recent years, the tournament has packed 20,000 fans into that one area, while there are some events on tour that dream of having that many on their entire golf course. Ticket packages, Jenkins said, are being offered to a limited number of previous suite holders.

Tracy Wilcox
Fans cheer as J.B. Holmes makes a birdie at the 16th hole during the third round of the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The Phoenix Open has long been considered the best-attended tour event, with organizers reporting crowds of more than 700,000 for the week. For 2019 and ’20, the Thunderbirds decided not to announce attendance, with then-Chairman Chance Cozby saying, “It’s just something that we don’t want to focus on going forward. We want to focus on charity.”

Jenkins said the Thunderbirds continue to work with the PGA Tour and state and local health officials to determine what is an acceptable number of fans at this year’s tournament. Like many regions of the U.S., Arizona has experienced a COVID-19 surge in recent weeks, and on Friday the COVID-19 Modeling Team at the University of Arizona sent a letter to the state’s Department of Health Services pleading for a statewide stay-home shutdown and mask mandate in December, while warning of dire consequences.

Without the steps, the team said, “it would be akin to facing a major forest fire without evacuation orders.”

On Monday, Jenkins said of the tournament’s situation, “It’s fluid. I’ve stopped trying to predict the future in our COVID world. We’d love to have fans. We’re the ‘Peoples’ Open.’ We also understand that the safety of our fans, players and volunteers is the most important thing.”

The NFL’s Arizona Cardinals played their first two home games without fans, allowed family members and staff to attend the third game, and then allowed 1,200 fans on Oct. 25 and 4,200 fans on Nov. 8 and Nov. 15. But the team announced last week that it will not allow fans for the Dec. 6 home game against the Los Angeles Rams, citing guidance from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The post Phoenix Open moving forward with plans for fans and smaller ‘stadium’ on 16th hole appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
This week’s Bermuda Championship will be the first PGA Tour event to allow fans on site since the opening round of the Players Championship in mid-March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the island paradise has had just 188 total cases of coronavirus and has only three current known cases, strict guidelines will be in place at the tournament—most notably a maximum of 500 spectators will be permitted on the grounds at Port Royal Golf Course each tournament day.

There are other stringent protocols as well, including the requirement of anyone at the event getting tested seven days before arriving, then tested again upon arrival on the island while staying in their hotel room until receiving a negative test result. Masks will also be required for anyone in attendance.

“We were lucky the Bermudian government and the health team here have kept the island safe,” said tournament director Sean Sovacool. “We were able to get the tour comfortable [with the idea of having fans] and their protocols matched with Bermuda’s.”

There are plenty of other safeguards, too: Temperature checks, socially distant viewing areas and pre-packaged food and beverages among them, along with all the regular guidelines that the tour has in place for its players.

Given that, the relatively isolated location and (lack of) scale of the second-year tournament, Sovacool said he was always confident the tournament would be able to take place with fans, particularly as the number of coronavirus cases remained consistently low on the island.

There’s also certain level of comfort for those competing, and spectators will be a welcome sight.

“I think it’s a step forward,” Anirbhan Lahiri said on Tuesday. “Bermuda as a country has done really well in managing and handling the virus.

“It will also be great for us to have the galleries again and have that atmosphere that obviously they bring. So it’s really great to see that opening up. I think we will be opening up a little bit going forward in the U.S. as well.”

That’s where the real test will come.

The tour has not allowed fans since its return from a three-month break due to the pandemic in June. The PGA Championship and U.S. Open were played without spectators, and the Masters won’t have them when it’s played next month. But next week’s Houston Open will also allow fans on site, capping its capacity at 2,000 spectators per day.

Sam Greenwood
Fans leave last year’s Houston Open during a weather delay. As many as 2,000 will be on the grounds for this year’s event.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases across the country are at an all-time high. After a drop in new cases in September, the U.S. is now averaging nearly 70,000 new cases per day. Hospitalizations are also up in many states, including Texas. And while Houston hasn’t yet seen a big spike that other parts of the state have, the numbers are trending upward. On Monday, more than 6,500 new cases were reported, up from just over 4,600 the Monday prior and more than double the number from two weeks earlier.

Experts also say another surge may be coming to Houston.

“We’re going through a phase that I call slow and steady,” Dr. Luis Ostrosky, an infectious disease specialist with University of Texas Physicians and University of Texas Health, told television station KHOU. “[It] makes us feel comfortable because we’re not exceeding our hospital capacity, we’re not seeing people around us getting sick necessarily. But we should not get too comfortable with this phase.”

For its part, the Houston Open will require spectators, volunteers and tournament workers to wear masks at all times while on site at Memorial Park Golf Course, which sits just outside downtown. What other measures the tournament will have in place, however, still aren’t entirely clear, and tournament director Colby Callaway did not respond to emails from Golf Digest seeking more information.

Despite the rise in coronavirus cases, however, the tournament isn’t short on big names. Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Tony Finau and Brandt Snedeker are all scheduled to play.

That’s not to say everyone is entirely comfortable with the idea of having fans at the event, particularly with the Masters looming a week later and the possibility of testing positive and having to miss the year’s final major.

“For me personally, I don’t like the risk that having that happen the week before the Masters,” Phil Mickelson said last week. “I just feel like the week before the Masters, like that’s a big tournament we have and I just don’t want to have any risk heading in there. “It has made me question whether or not I’ll play there.”

Though Mickelson clarified his comments a few days later, saying he thinks the tour will do a great job and that having fans wouldn’t be a deciding factor on whether he plays the event or not, he has yet to commit to the tournament and is also considering the PGA Tour Champions event in Phoenix, which has said it will limit daily spectators to 350 members.

Whatever Mickelson does, he’s not alone in his feelings.

Scott Stallings, who is in the field this week in Bermuda and will play in Houston next week, believes it’s too soon to have fans in attendance. Privately, others also expressed similar concerns.

“It’s not worth the risk with only three events left in the U.S.,” Stallings said. “We’ve made it this far without issue, why rush back?”

Cliff Hawkins
Brendon Todd greets fans after winning during the final round of the 2019 Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course.

Initially, the Memorial tournament in July was slated to have as many as 8,000 fans per day. But players voted against the idea and the plan was scrapped. More than three months later, the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is even higher, though the number of players on tour to have tested positive has remained low—13 in all after Johnson tested positive before the CJ Cup two weeks ago and Adam Scott was positive before last week’s Zozo Championship.

Golf does, however, have the advantage of being able to spread out its fans, or at least a couple thousand of them, over a couple of hundred acres of open space. And there’s something to be said for the Houston Open as being something of a test case.

Over the last few months, the tour has found a way forward. Allowing fans—a financially integral part of the ability for a sponsor to put on a tournament at all—would be the next step. However, such decisions also only go as far as state and local regulations allow. It seems possible, for example, that fans would be permitted at the four events in California during the tour’s West Coast Swing in the first two months of 2021, according to sources. The state has yet to allow fans to attend sporting events of any kind.

Other players, meanwhile, fall somewhere in between on how they feel about the return of spectators. They welcome the energy and buzz they bring, but do so cautiously.

“I’m OK with it and want to see how plans are implemented,” said James Hahn, who is one of four player directors on tour and will also play in Houston. “I’m hesitant to disagree with [the decision]. But it’s not that I agree with it, either. I need to play. I need the points and I like the event.

“Is it worth my health to try to go play?”

The same could be asked of having a couple of thousand fans in Houston and what it will ultimately mean for the tour as it plays on, this time in front of an audience.

The post Fans return to PGA Tour this week in Bermuda while questions about safety persist appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Tony Finau is every bit of six-foot-four. He’s one of the few PGA Tour players that could be mistaken for an NBA or NFL player. He’s 31 years old, active and fit. In short, he’s not the type of person you’d expect to have a rough bout with COVID-19.

And yet, in his own words: “It got me really good.”

He started feeling under the weather on Saturday, Oct. 3, but figured it was the flu. So he drove down to Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and took his test that Monday. When he saw his phone ringing shortly thereafter, he knew exactly what was happening.

“When you get the call, you pretty much know,” Finau said after shooting an eight-under 64 on Friday at the Zozo Championship. “If you don’t get a call, you just get an email on your phone or the results on the Healthy Roster app that everyone gets.

“So I knew. I picked up the phone, the guy said this is so-and-so from the PGA Tour, and I knew.”

Finau, who is not sure where exactly he contracted the virus, then quarantined by himself for 10 days in a Las Vegas condo, away from his wife and four children.

“For the first five days it got worse. I had massive headaches, body aches, and I didn’t feel like doing anything. It got me really good, fatigue wise…it knocked me down, no question about it.”

He lost his taste and smell around the fourth day, and they still haven’t returned—a tough development for the self-proclaimed “foodie.”

Under the PGA Tour’s protocols, Finau would have been eligible to play in last week’s CJ Cup but simply didn’t feel up for it. He did not hit balls until Saturday before the Zozo.

“It was not the experience I thought I was going to have. Most guys are asymptomatic. They’re saying if you’re young and healthy, it’s not a big deal. I think I gained a little bit of respect for the virus, and the precautionary measures our country has taken.”

Finau has been tested five times since the initial positive and has yet to return a negative test—but, as he pointed out, that’s due to dead cells in the body. He is able to play because he is no longer contagious per CDC guidelines.

“I could see that you could definitely die from it. Not that I ever felt I was going to die. But it can take your immune system to a place where I could totally see you being hospitalized from it, and it affecting your life. So I think in a way, I just gained respect for the actual virus. Not that I didn’t take it seriously, not that I wasn’t social distancing or anything like that, but just that I understand some of the measures that our country has taken in certain states. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s probably the right thing to do.

“It was worse than the flu, and it lasted way longer.”

The post Tony Finau details COVID-19 experience: ‘I gained respect for the virus’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Anyone who has ventured to a golf course this summer can attest that business is booming, the game’s relatively safe confines during the pandemic welcoming a resurgence for the sport. And according to Golf Datatech, it’s not just courses that are enjoying the revival.

Golf Datatech, an industry research firm, announced Wednesday that United States retail golf equipment sales surpassed the $1 billion mark for the third quarter. If that number sounds significant, it is, the first time sales in July, August and September have ever exceeded $1 billion in Q3, and serves as the second-highest quarter ($1.013 billion in Q2, 2008) of all-time.

For comparison, Q3 sales are up 42 percent over the same period last year, spurred by purchases of golf bags, wedges and irons.

“The story keeps getting better as golf continues to surge coming out of the shutdown, and Q3 equipment sales suggests that 2020 will likely end up positive for the entire year,” said John Krzynowek of Golf Datatech. “While the US economy will not enjoy a ‘V Shaped Recovery’ in 2020, if golf continues on this trajectory we will be there soon.”

On the year, total equipment sales are up just 0.2 percent. However, according to Krzynowek, that number is remarkable given the hole the sport worked out of from shutdowns in March, April and May.

“These month-over-month sales records are unlike anything we’ve ever seen since Golf Datatech started tracking performance data in 1997,” Krzynowek said. “Our ‘Rounds Played’ data also shows similar record-breaking growth over the past several months, which is a strong indication that avid golfers and newcomers alike are driving the sport to new levels right now.”

The post U.S. retail golf equipment sales surpass record $1 billion mark appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
A week after testing positive for COVID-19 and missing the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Tony Finau has withdrawn from the CJ Cup.

The PGA Tour communications department announced Finau’s WD on Tuesday afternoon but did not specify the reason why he would not be playing. As of this writing, Finau’s agent has not responded to a Golf Digest request for comment.

Despite last week’s positive result, Finau was listed as part of the 78-player field at this week’s event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. He confirmed his intentions to play Tuesday morning via social media. “Yes I plan on playing this week,” Finau said on Twitter. “I have 1 more day left of my self-quarantine.”

Finau’s last start was at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, finishing in a tie for eighth. The 31-year-old finished 17th last season in the FedEx Cup, and entered the week 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Robby Shelton will replace Finau at Shadow Creek.

The news comes on the same afternoon as Dustin Johnson dropping out of the tournament. Johnson reported COVID-19 symptoms to tour officials, with a test confirming a positive result.

The post Tony Finau withdraws from the CJ Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
Kevin Kisner has apologised for an insensitive tweet he’d posted earlier in the day in response to former NBA player Rex Chapman.

Chapman tweeted that a friend’s parents died as a result of COVID-19 and related issues, that his own parents had been in and out of the hospital and that one of his children had also tested positive for it. He also expressed his displeasure over President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

My friends parents have died from Covid & Covid related issues. My parents are in & out of the hospital. One of my kids tested positive for Covid today.

Forgive me if I’m upset over 200,000 dead when the President told us 6-months ago we would be down to 0 cases “in a few days.”

— Rex Chapman?? (@RexChapman) September 12, 2020

Kisner responded, saying, “Guess they can’t follow the guidelines.” Several hours later and after receiving heavy backlash, Kisner deleted the tweet and eventually issued a statement.

Earlier this morning, I made a reckless comment. I diminished the real experience of pain and loss suffered by many during the pandemic. I am not without empathy, but I certainly exercised poor judgement. I apologize to @RexChapman and anyone else that was hurt by my comment.

— Kevin Kisner (@K_Kisner) September 12, 2020

The PGA Tour also issued a statement following Kisner’s apology.

“We found Kevin’s comment this morning to be both disappointing and out of character,” a spokesperson said. “His remarks do not reflect the nature of our sport or organization, both of which strive to offer compassion and unity. We were pleased to see Kevin take ownership of the situation and have since spoken to him directly. We will have no further public comment on the matter.”

Chapman, meanwhile, said that he would block Kisner on the social media platform and following the apology added, “People don’t get to continue to say shitty things to other people and just apologise like everything is fine. Words matter.”

He then offered another parting response to Kisner’s apology, saying: “Not accepted. Done with people like you. We all are.”

Not accepted. Done with people like you. We all are.

— Rex Chapman?? (@RexChapman) September 12, 2020

There have been nearly 6.5 million cases of coronavirus in the United States since the start of the pandemic and more than 190,000 deaths.

Earlier this month, Kisner, one of four player directors on the PGA Tour’s policy board, urged for fans to be allowed back at PGA Tour events, noting that tournaments aren’t the same and that revenues aren’t the same without them.

The post Kevin Kisner apologises for ‘reckless’ COVID-19 Twitter exchange with Rex Chapman appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
DUBLIN, Ohio — Bryson DeChambeau is forcing golf to reconsider its rules. It might sound dramatic, but it’s demonstrably true.

After he averaged 350 yards off the tee and won the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks ago, R&A chief Martin Slumbers was asked the most en vogue question in golf: What are your thoughts on what Bryson DeChambeau is doing?

“All credit to him; he’s a true athlete,” Slumbers told the Daily Mail. “But I still come back to the belief that golf is a game of skill. And we believe we need to get this balance of skill and technology right.

“Once we feel that the industry is stable again—which isn’t going to be tomorrow, because we don’t know what’s going to happen over autumn and winter—we will be coming back to that issue in great seriousness.”

The issue he’s referring to, of course, is the long-running debate over whether modern technology has changed golf’s integrity by making it too easy to hit the ball far and straight.”

Ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament, where DeChambeau is the clear Vegas favourite in a field that features nine of the top 10 players in the world, No. 7-ranked DeChambeau was asked whether he’d be upset if his distance explosion resulted in rule changes to limit his greatest strength.

“No, I wouldn’t,” he said. “No matter what rules they give me, I’m going to try and do my best to maximise my athletic ability.

“They can’t take working out away from me. I know that.”

He continued: “I’m, again, just going to look at my game and how I can improve it in the best way possible, no matter if they roll the ball back there’s still going to be a percentage difference. Even if it gets rolled back there’s still going to be a gap. Whether it’s closer now, it is what it is. I’m not really worried about it. I’m just going to keep trying to make those athletic gains so that I can be the best golfer that I can possibly be.”

DeChambeau leads the tour with an average driving distance of 323 yards, which would be the longest average in the history of the PGA Tour if he sustained it for the season. And of the 42 rounds measured for that statistic, the majority of them came before he returned from the COVID-19 hiatus at 250 pounds and routinely swinging the driver 190 miles per hour. That number seems like it will only continue to increase as the year wears on.

Until one of his peers can increase their swing speed to match his, there’s good reason to believe he’ll continue to lead the tour in that category. If Slumber has his way, future leading averages might be well below that 323 figure. But he can’t stop DeChambeau from being the pace-setter.

The post Bryson DeChambeau on talk of scaling back distance: ‘They can’t take working out away from me’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.