By Derrick Ow — Reporter
I might have mentioned that golf is the perfect sport to play during a global pandemic.
Three months later, my argument still holds true.
On Monday the Mountain West announced its postponement of the fall sports season. This comes just a week after the conference announced a revised football schedule. So much for that new scoreboard getting built at CEFCU Stadium.
College football will always reign supreme in our country. It is a massive loss that has a tremendous domino effect. But, the one sport that should start on time is golf.
Golf is one of the safest sports to play during the pandemic. I have played about 20 rounds during the summer and the precautions are in place.
Wear a mask when you check in for your tee time at the pro shop. You have your own cart to ride in unless you are playing with a family member. Plus, you are not allowed to touch the flagstick on the green.
The PGA Tour has resumed their season with a successful return. They have played 11 events which included a thrilling PGA Championship over the weekend. They have had hiccups along the way with eight players testing positive for COVID-19.
But, they have protocols that have protected the safety of players, tournament officials and caddies. You cannot be allowed on the golf course without a negative test result. To mitigate an outbreak, they have a charter plane for players who will be playing the following week.
The LPGA Tour resumed two weeks ago with similar protocols to the PGA Tour. They have only had two caddies test positive which required their respective players to withdraw.
Locally, San Jose State golfers are doing just fine without team events happening.
SJSU Men’s golf has had individual success this summer. Bryce Wortman was dominant in his win at the Oregon Amateur Golf Championship last month. Caleb Shelter made it to the semi-finals of the California State Amateur at Torrey Pines. Sean Yu is currently playing at the US Amateur this week in Bandon Dunes, OR.
The ladies should not be ignored either. Natasha Andrea Oon made it to the Round of 64 at the US Women’s Amateur last week.
We should be talking about a fall golf season for SJSU. Instead, we are still looking at the unknown of when they will return.
Mountain West Conference officials should come up with one solution after reading this.
Let the Golfers play and have a fall sports season.
Follow Derrick on Twitter @derrickq42