Colonial attracts top 5 in the world in return to PGA Tour

FORT WORTH (AP) — The PGA Tour returns after three months, and some of its biggest stars are ready to play.

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

The biggest name — Tiger Woods — chose not to play. Woods 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 also will have daily thermal readings and health questionnaires. That also applies to caddies and what the tour deems essential personnel.

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

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

Cantlay has played Colonial only twice, including his rookie year in 2013 when he first felt a jolt of pain in his back that kept him out of golf for nearly three years.

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 Dec. 6. That schedule includes three majors.

Texans’ longtime special teams coach retiring

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Texans special teams coordinator Brad Seely is retiring after 31 seasons coaching in the NFL.

Seely served as a team’s special teams coordinator from 1989-2019. In all, he has been a coach for 41 years and won three Super Bowls.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to spend over 30 years in the NFL coaching the game I love,” said Seely in a statement. “I want to thank each and every coach, player and staff member I worked with from when I entered the league in 1989 until now. I’ve been blessed to be a part of some of the best organizations in professional sports and I will forever cherish the friendships and memories I’ve made around the league.”

Seely began his NFL career with Indianapolis in 1989 as a special teams/tight ends coach, He went to the New York Jets coaching special teams in 1994 before spending 1995-98 with Carolina.

He spent 10 seasons as New England’s special teams coach (1999-2008), where he was a part of three NFL championships and a 16-0 regular season in 2007. From 2009-10, Seely was in Cleveland Browns before moving to San Francisco, Oakland and Houston.

With governor’s approval, Memorial Tournament to have fans

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a plan for Muirfield Village Golf Club to have at least some fans for the Memorial in July, which would make it the first PGA Tour event with a crowd since the tour was shut down March 13 by the coronavirus.

DeWine announced the decision Friday. He said on Twitter that casinos, racinos, amusement parks and water parks will be able to open on June 19.

“In addition, we received safety plans for the Memorial Golf Tournament to be held July 13-19,” he wrote. “We are approving that plan.”

The PGA Tour resumes its schedule next week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth. That is to be followed by the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, the Travelers Championship in Connecticut and the Rocket Mortage Classic in Detroit. The tour said the opening four events would not have spectators.

The John Deere Classic was the first possibility for fans until it decided last week to cancel this year’s event. It was replaced by another tournament, also to be held at Muirfield Village, only without spectators.

The Memorial said it would have more details later.

— Associated Press

In a statement, the Memorial praised DeWine and his staff and said it would work with state, county and city leaders to use the tournament “as an example of how public gathering events can be developed and implemented with approved and accepted protocols in place”

Dan Sullivan, the tournament director of the Memorial, had been planning on different scenarios on returning from the COVID-19 pandemic depending on state and local governments.

Sullivan told the Greater Columbus Sports Commission last month about inserting chips into tournament badges to know how many people are congregating in different areas of the golf course.

DeWine said the Memorial, parks and casinos “have come up plans that reduce the number of people, provide for sanitation, and in some cases, provide for one-way traffic.

“They are elaborate plans that we believe are consistent with protecting the public,” DeWine said on Twitter.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this week approved another level of opening that would allow outdoor events, such as the Colonial next week, up to 50% capacity.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan told The Associated Press in an interview earlier Friday that the tour was sticking to its plan of no spectators the first five weeks of the return.

“We want to have a sustained return,” Monahan said. “If you think about a run to go through the FedEx Cup, we want to make sure week to week we’re not taking on unnecessary risk.”

The tour said in a statement that DeWine’s announcement was a “positive step” to a gradual approach of allowing limited spectators at tournaments.

“We very much look forward to the return of spectators on a limited basis at the Memorial Tournament,” the statement said.