Pro golfers foresee challenges restarting after long layoff, with new health measures

With her young daughter napping nearby, Rachel Rohanna was practicing on the “green” in her house. As she stood over a putt, one of her daughter’s toys fell to the floor.

The noise got Rohanna’s heart racing. This, she thought, was good. This was the adrenaline rush the Waynesburg High School grad has been missing since the Symetra Tour was paused after one event in March.

While many team sports continue to grapple with the uncertainty of restarting during the coronavirus pandemic, golf is nearing its return.

The PGA and Korn Ferry tours will be first June 11-14. The European, Champions, LPGA and Symetra tours are scheduled for July restarts.

Golfers don’t have to reacclimate to the speed and physicality a football or hockey player faces, but their sport will present its own challenges.

“I think one of the biggest things is (competing) is hard to practice,” Rohanna said. “Practicing under pressure, playing under pressure … the best thing you can do is visualize yourself making shots and pulling off shots with the pressure on.”

First and foremost, however, players must adapt to safety measures taken by their respective tours. The PGA Tour recently detailed its health protocols, including no fans for at least the first four tournaments.

Peters Township native Brendon Todd plans to play in the first three events. While Todd said he believes the PGA Tour is making a concerted effort to keep players safe, he also noted room for improvement.

“The one thing they don’t list is much research or medical expert information in their plan,” Todd said. “I feel like we’re going out there and hoping for the best. There are no guarantees we don’t have a handful of people who will get the virus. There are still some gray areas … and I’m sure they are working hard to figure it out.”

Fifth-year LPGA pro Brittany Altomare said she has few reservations about competing. She is more concerned with what happens off the course.

“It’s probably more like being on a plane or in the airport,” she said. “On the golf course, you can control the atmosphere. The LPGA can regulate the amount of people who have access to you.”

To that end, fan-less events could be the norm for the foreseeable future.

The John Deere Classic (July 9-12) would be the first tournament with fans under the PGA Tour’s current plan. The Memorial (July 16-19) already announced it plans to have fans — for now. Spokesman Zach Sepanik said the LPGA Tour has not yet decided on admitting spectators.

Altomare noted the importance fans play in an event’s atmosphere. She said some of her favorite tournaments are the ones with enthusiastic crowds. Likewise, Todd said the fans’ excitement gets players pumped up, especially down the stretch on Sundays.

But Todd said the absence of fans will affect play in a more practical way.

“No fans means no galleries stopping off-line shots and no galleries stomping down the rough outside the ropes,” he said. “Hitting fairways will be at a premium. It will favor good ball-strikers and accurate drivers.”

Todd has been hitting a lot of fairways this season. He won twice and ranked No. 4 in the FedEx Cup standings before the hiatus.

He said he isn’t too worried about losing his momentum during the down time. Continuing to play would have been preferable, he said, but he has been able to keep practicing while at home in Georgia and even played a small, one-day event recently.

Altomare, too, could have her run of good form affected. The 29-year-old was eager to build on her 2019 season in which she won a career-best $878,369 while making the cut in all 26 events she played.

“I had a really good rhythm going and felt really good about my game,” she said. “I guess it’s kind of nice that there is a break, but I kind of wanted to keep that rhythm I was on.”

India’s Jeev Milkha Singh has seen and been through a lot — including prolonged layoffs — in his 27 years as a pro. The veteran of the European and Asian tours who peaked at No. 28 in the world in 2009 said a pause can work against someone who was playing well or help a player who was struggling.

In either case, he said, a strong mind is as important as a sound game.

“After a long layoff because of injury or forced time off, it is very difficult to come back,” he told the Tribune-Review via email from his home in Chandigarh. “Work on the most powerful muscle, the brain, when you have time off.”

Rohanna has been working on her mental game as well as focusing on fundamentals in practice. She hopes those things will help her hit the ground running when the Symetra Tour restarts July 8 in Cincinnati.

What that event — and others — will look like remains among many unknowns pros will face in the coming weeks.

“(The tours) are going to have to do what they have to do,” she said. “This year is just so weird for everyone. Hopefully, we even get out on July 8. Everything is so up in the air. I think these decisions are going to be very last-minute.”