PGA Tour season resumes this week with many questions

The new golf season begins this week in Hawaii with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and there are many questions about 2021.

The PGA Tour season technically began in September with the first 12 events, but a new calendar year brings a fresh start to the game. And before the first shot is hit Thursday, here are six questions about this year.

When will fans return?

Let’s start with the biggest difference in tournament golf since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Houston Open in November had 2,000 spectators each day, but that was the only exception since the tour returned in June. Their absence has made a big difference to players, who almost all have said fans are missed.

When we might see them is anybody’s guess. There definitely won’t be any at the two events in Hawaii, or at the California events at the Palm Springs courses, Pebble Beach, Riviera or Torrey Pines.

For the West Coast swing, that leaves just TPC Scottsdale the first week of February, an event that draws hundreds of thousands of fans. Organizers are hoping to allow 8,000 fans per day this year, but whether the PGA Tour or the Arizona governor’s office blocks that has yet to be decided.

Grandstands are being assembled for the Players Championship in March at TPC Sawgrass, but whether they or any for the foreseeable future are put to use remains a question mark.

The fact remains that COVID-19 is a big part of life until everyone has a chance to be vaccinated. This week’s Tournament of Champions will be without Jim Herman, who tested positive last week and was forced to withdraw from the field.

When are the biggest events?

It’s a jam-packed calendar, starting with the Masters from April 8 to 11, less than five months after Dustin Johnson won the delayed 2020 version.

Other majors are the PGA Championship from May 20 to 23 at Kiawah Island, the U.S. Open from June 17 to 20 at Torrey Pines and the Open Championship from July 15 to 18 at Royal St. George’s.

This is also the year for the postponed Ryder Cup (Sept. 21 to 26 at Whistling Strats) and the Summer Olympics (July 29 to Aug. 1 in Japan).

Who are the players to watch?

There’s no reason to doubt the top players will remain in that position in 2021, starting with Johnson, the reigning player of the year. His 24 career wins rank 26th all time and third among active players. He has also won at least once on the tour for 12 consecutive seasons, the fifth longest streak in history.

Other top players include Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau. There are many other excellent players who can win and contend often, but those five are clearly the best players in the world.

Who’s next?

Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa had the breakout season in 2020 with his PGA Championship triumph, and there are plenty of others who could take a similar step this year.

Let’s start with two other players who, like Morikawa, were playing college golf just 19 months ago and are already winners on the PGA Tour. Matthew Wolff, who lost a playoff in Las Vegas in October at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and Viktor Hovland, who has two wins, are poised for greatness.

Players with a legitimate shot at their first major championship include Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Tyrrell Hatton.

Others poised to break out include Carlos Ortiz, Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes and Will Zalatoris, who leads the Korn Ferry Tour but will get plenty of opportunities to shine on the big stage.

Who’s in trouble?

Many players with stellar resumes are showing signs of fading. They clearly have the skills to win, but players such as Justin Rose, former UNLV standout Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar and Jason Day appear to be on the downslope of their careers.

But nobody has fallen faster than Rickie Fowler. It’s been a year since his last top-10 finish and 23 months since his last victory. After the restart in June, he missed six of 14 cuts and never contended.

What about Tiger and Phil?

It’s the sunset of the careers for the best golfers of their generation.

Tiger broke 70 just six times after the restart with his best finish a tie for 37th. Even carefully picking when he plays is no longer a guarantee he’ll contend. Can he win one more to become the all-time winningest player on the tour? Certainly he can, but will he is another question.

Mickelson played twice on the Champions Tour after turning 50 and won both times. That’s where he needs to be now. There are places he can still compete — Pebble Beach, Augusta — but his peers have passed him. He contended just once since the restart and has two wins in the past seven years.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.