For golf fans growing weary of watching taped tournaments from past seasons replayed on television because all major tours have been shut down because of the Coronavirus pandemic, live golf returns to TV on Sunday.
The TaylorMade Driving Relief, which will pit Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff at Seminole Golf Club (pictured) in Juno Beach, Fla., will be televised by Golf Channel from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. PDT on Golf Channel.
PGA Tour players have not been seen playing live on television since the Players Championship was canceled before the second round on March 13.
The TaylorMade event, a $3 million charity skins match, will benefit Covid-19 relief efforts.
“I’m pretty excited to do a small part to raise some money and raise some awareness in these challenging times,” the top-ranked McIlroy said. “I think golf can return to doing things like this.
“We can keep ourselves socially distant, keep ourselves in different carts, and stay obviously more than 6 feet away from one another and that’s really important too, so, taking all the necessary precautions to put this match on.”
Said Fowler, who is from Murrieta in Southern California: “When I heard about this event, I couldn’t get involved fast enough. I know how much I’ve missed sports and golf, especially, so to be one of the first events returning to television is very exciting.”
And on the following Sunday, “The Match: Champions for Charity,” will be televised by on TNT and TBS, with Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning playing against Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.
Turner Sports’ advertising space for the event reportedly has been sold out, as the sponsors obviously believe that golf fans are anxious to see live golf again.
These two events will be warm-ups for the scheduled return of the PGA Tour with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas.
There are other tournaments being played this week, with several PGA Tour pros trying to keep their games sharp in the Scottsdale Open on the Outlaw Tour at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Among those in the field are Joel Dahmen, two-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Streelman and Alex Cejka of Germany, who win the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. Dahmen prepared for the tournament by shooting 58 a few days ago at nearby Mesa Country Club, going 12-under-par over the last 11 holes.
The LPGA Tour is not scheduled to return until the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational t at Midland Country Club in Midland, Mich., so several South Korean players have returned home and will play this week in the KLPGA Championship, which begins Thursday at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, South Korea.
Among them are Sung Hyun Park, Sei Young Kim and Jeongeun Lee6, who all are ranked in the top 10 of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to watch them on TV in the United States.
