By Alex Myers
As anyone who has ever followed the Colorado Rockies can tell you, the ball flies in the Mile High City. And this week, a par 5 measuring nearly half a mile is the latest example of that.

Players teeing it up at the second annual Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC Colorado Championship will face an unusual challenge with the course’s 13th hole. The long par 5 measures 773 yards. And no, that is not a misprint.

773-yard par 5 @TPC_ColoradoHL. ?

Could you get there in three? pic.twitter.com/inmNS5UGaP

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2020

Could I get there in three? Maybe if I was allowed to tee up my second and third shots.

The hole is 83 yards longer than the previous tour-sanctioned mark. That was back at the PGA Tour’s 1991 Tucson Open at The Gallery GC, which featured a 690-yard par 5. Again, the altitude less than an hour north of Denver plays a factor in a golf course that measures nearly 8,000 yards. Still, 773 yards is a long way to hit a golf ball, no matter the conditions.

So how did golfers handle this gargantuan test in its first year on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019? Pretty well, actually. The hole played to a stroke average of 5.072, ranking it just the 184th most difficult hole on the Korn Ferry Tour last season.

In fact, it ranked as only the eight most difficult hole at TPC Colorado last year. But that’s mostly because tour pros tear up par 5s in general. Compared to just five-shoters, this beast ranked the second most difficult par 5 in 2019.

In other words, like Korn Ferry Tour pro Michael Arnaud says in the above video, this is one par 5 tour pros will actually be content to make par. Good luck to those embarking on this unique journey starting Thursday.

The post The longest par 5 in professional golf is back at this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Four more players have tested COVID-19 positive at PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour tournament sites this week.

On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced Chad Campbell has been withdrawn from the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Campbell, 46, was not yet in the field as he was listed as the tournament’s first alternate. Alex Cjeka now takes his place.

In a statement, Campbell said that while the positive test is “unnerving” he feels physically fine and is asymptomatic. “I support the tour’s protocol during this time and will be quarantining myself to protect others until I am well,” Campbell said.

Campbell is the third player attempting to play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic to test positive for COVID-19, joining Harris English and Dylan Frittelli. Seven players dropped out of last week’s Travelers Championship, although only two (Cameron Champ and Denny McCarthy) were the result of a player’s positive COVID-19 test. Campbell is the sixth PGA Tour player to be diagnosed with coronavirus in the past 12 days.

At the Korn Ferry Tour’s TPC Colorado Championship, Brandon Wu, Taylor Montgomery and Jonathan Hodge have withdrawn due to testing COVID-19 positive during the on-site screening process.

“These positive test results serve as a distinct reminder that we all need to continue to be vigilant in this ever-changing climate,” said Korn Ferry Tour president Alex Baldwin. “We will further reinforce the elements of our health and safety plan to all constituents, and deliver our full support to those who test positive for COVID-19.”

Wu, Montgomery, and Hodge are the only players to test positive through the Korn Ferry’s on-site testing protocol.

The post Four more players test COVID-19 positive at PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour events appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.