Golf In A Plague Year May 25: Alternatives

Golf In A Plague Year May 25: Alternatives

As an alternative to regular golf competition, Tiger, Phil, Tom and Peyton put on an entertaining show Sunday for charity. Playing in pouring rain, the team of Tiger and Peyton won one-up. The most important thing, however, was that the event raised some $20 million for Covid-19 related charities.

The PGA TOUR should really arrange for more of this sort of thing. I thought that the previous week’s Johnson/McIlroy v Fowler/Wolff match also was fun to watch. I’d much rather see these than the mostly flavorless fall lineup of tournaments.

One more thought: Justin Thomas has a future in broadcasting.

This week on the PGA TOUR, we’re missing the Rocket Mortgage Classic. I’m particularly feeling the loss because it’s my hometown tournament. At this point, the Rocket Mortgage Classic has been rescheduled — without galleries — for July 2 – 5.

The European Tour would have played the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (see a list of Irish Open Winners at the link) while the LPGA had the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

The European Tour continues with its alternative esports tournaments. The Third BMW Indoor Invitational was won by Wil Besseling. A total of 31 European Tour players teed it up at the virtual Royal Port Rush.

And speaking of virtual events: the Virtual Women’s Golf Day adds to its list of events for its alternative online celebrations. Among the offerings will be golf tips, fitness and insider info from Tour players past and present — including content from Jack Nicklaus.

An online auction benefitting Médecins sans Frontiers / Doctors without Borders (MSF) and their battle with COVID-19 will include memorabilia from Nicklaus and Annika Sorenstam, as well as lots from Real Club Valderrama, Experience Ireland Golf and Travel and the World Golf Hall of Fame,
as well as memorabilia from players including Annika Sorenstam & Jack Nicklaus. A full list of items and a schedule for the day will be revealed on May 28th.

The physical Women’s Golf day has been moved back to September 1, 2020.

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 The title of this post, Golf In a Plague Year, is a reference to Journal of A Plague Year, a novel by Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe) written in 1722.

The story follows the protagonist’s experiences in 1665, the year of the Great Plague that struck the city of London. The novel likely is based on the experiences of his uncle, Henry Foe.