Ryan Palmer was with his caddie down the first fairway during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, June 11, 2020.
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
FORT WORTH, Texas, June 11, 2020 (AP) — With one swing met with silence, the PGA Tour got back to business Thursday at Colonial.
Ryan Palmer felt more nerves than usual when he stood over his first tee shot in the Charles Schwab Challenge — the first official shot on the PGA Tour in 90 days — and even more bizarre was making a 10-foot birdie putt on the second hole with no one around to cheer.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan watched from the starter’s booth — a rarity for him to be on the first tee of any opening round — and gave Palmer, Brian Harman and Bill Haas a thumbs-up as they walked off the tee.
A sound technician wears a protective mask during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, June 11, 2020.