As Tiger Woods stepped to the tee Thursday morning at Harding Park, a man with a microphone welcomed the handful of media members and tournament volunteers, listed Woods’ four PGA Championship victories and introduced him to the sound of …
Nothing. Silence. Not a peep.
In a normal major championship, the mention of “Tiger” would spark a thunderous ovation from an oversized, exuberant crowd — before the announcer could even say “Woods.” But this is not a normal major championship by any measure.
Woods’ surreal introduction conveyed the unprecedented atmosphere for the first major in Harding Park history, the first major in San Francisco in eight years and the first major of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic kept spectators away and kept the volume down — as in, disarmingly quiet — during the first round of the 102nd PGA Championship.
First, the leaderboard: Jason Day and Brendon Todd shot 5-under-par 65s to share the lead. Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose — all major champions like Day — highlighted the pack at 4-under 66. Woods shot 68.
Cal alum Collin Morikawa posted 69, Rory McIlroy headlined the group at even-par 70 and top-ranked Justin Thomas shot 71.
Still, the most striking thing about the Bay Area’s return to big-time golf was the utter absence of noise. No spine-tingling roars when players hit good shots, except for scattered shouts from outside the fence along Lake Merced Boulevard. No groans when putts somehow stayed out of the hole.
Woods hit a terrific flop shot on his first hole (No. 10), for example, cozying the ball close. Silence. Later in the round, McIlroy lofted a gorgeous wedge shot on No. 16, landing the ball beyond the hole and spinning it back to 3 feet.
Again, silence.
It almost felt like an amateur event, with only family and friends traipsing along. Thursday morning’s marquee group of Woods-McIlroy-Thomas attracted 50 to 100 people at various times, a mix of ESPN crew members, media and tournament volunteers.
Still, the strangest moment came when Woods, whose mere presence invariably attracts a raucous response, stepped to the tee to begin his round. He later called it “our new norm” as the game cautiously moves ahead amid a global pandemic.
Asked if that introduction was weird, even after similar silence in recent weeks on tour, McIlroy said, “At this point, not really. It’s still funny. They say 99-00-06-07 PGA champion Tiger Woods — and there’s nothing. That’s interesting, and definitely different. It’s the way it’s going to be for the foreseeable future, unfortunately.”
Woods is accustomed to plying his trade amid myriad distractions: spectators gawking or shouting, photographers jostling for position or clicking their cameras too quickly. He doesn’t need to worry this week.
“There’s really no one moving around,” he said. “You don’t hear the crowd noises. It’s just different.”
The lack of spectators could add to the challenge. Crowds usually stomp down thick rough outside the ropes, so a player might draw a good lie even after hitting a shot way off line. Now, the rough is thick and nasty all over the place.
This didn’t cause many problems amid ideal scoring conditions Thursday: cool, partly sunny, little wind. Day, an affable Australian with 12 tour wins (including the 2015 PGA Championship), took full advantage. His five birdies included one on No. 9, a 515-yard par-4, his final hole and the most difficult on the course for the opening round.
Soon thereafter, Day acknowledged he prefers boisterous crowds to this new normal. PGA officials had planned to cram nearly 40,000 people onto Harding Park each day.
“I miss playing in front of fans, because you obviously work off that energy, especially in a major,” Day said. “Usually, it’s buzzing from Monday all the way through Sunday. There’s a lot of people here and there’s a big buzz going around the course. … It’s just not the same.”
The irony is that Harding, the rare municipal course to host a major, quickly established a reputation for lively galleries after its early-21st century renovation and return to hosting big tournaments. Flash back to the World Golf Championship event in 2005, when Woods tangled with John Daly in a memorable playoff.
As a cart took Woods to the No. 18 tee for the first playoff hole, he later joked his left ear felt half-deaf. Then, after he and Daly smacked towering drives, they walked down the same fairway heading the other direction — and Woods’ right ear felt half-deaf.
“It was electric,” he said at the time.
Leaderboard
First round
Harding Park, par-70
|
Player |
To par |
|
Jason Day |
-5 |
|
Brendon Todd |
-5 |
|
9 players |
-4 |
Notables at 4-under: Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Martin Kaymer, Zach Johnson
Others: Tiger Woods, 2-under; Collin Morikawa, 1-under
What: PGA Championship (fans not permitted)
TV: Friday, 10 a.m. ESPN; Saturday, 10 a.m. ESPN, 1 p.m. Channel: 5Channel: 13Channel: 46; Sunday, 9 a.m. ESPN, noon Channel: 5Channel: 13Channel: 46
Fifteen years later, Woods and the rest of the world’s best players are navigating an entirely new world.
Ron Kroichick covers golf for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: rkroichick@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ronkroichick
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August 07, 2020 at 07:12AM
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Tiger Woods’ surreal introduction punctuates strange scene at PGA Championship - San Francisco Chronicle
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