#Fan-less PGA Tour events already making massive difference

Sunday on the first playoff hole of the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, Justin Thomas buries a 50-foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole and the 10,000 fans surrounding the green erupt for several minutes.

Now Collin Morikawa, faced with a 25-foot birdie putt of his own, has to make it to extend the playoff while possibly rattled by the ear-piercing noise.

We know, of course, there were no fans surrounding the 18th green and Morikawa, in relative silence, made his 25-footer, extended the playoff and won the tournament on the third playoff hole.

Now consider this: If there were the usual 10,000 fans ringed around the 18th green delirious over Thomas’ 50-foot bomb, would Morikawa have made his 25-footer to stay alive?

Even Morikawa, in the days following his second career victory, has asked himself this.

“I’ve thought about it a lot,’’ Morikawa said. “If we had fans, I think everything would have been a little different. I would have had to almost wait another two minutes just to even hit that next putt because of the fans, just roars and everything and mumbles after [Thomas] making a 50-footer. Those are the type of putts that you pretty much make to win.’’

The entire dynamic surely would have been different with fans there. The noise would have been deafening and the buzz from the crowd would have lasted several minutes. And maybe Morikawa’s heart rate spikes a tick or 10 quicker, maybe he flinches, loses concentration, misses the 25-footer and Thomas wins.

No one will ever know what would have happened. This, however, is the reality of the PGA Tour likely for the rest of 2020: no fans. This week’s Memorial Tournament will mark the sixth event since the PGA Tour’s restart, and it’s the sixth without fans.

“You think of the commotion that would have been happening around that 18th green had there have been fans there,’’ Rory McIlroy said. “It probably would have taken Collin an extra two or three or four minutes to hit that putt just to let everyone settle down. I definitely think that putt that Collin had to make on top of Justin was a little easier because he didn’t have to deal with 10,000 people around the green having to settle down again.’’

Tiger Woods said that, with fans present, the Morikawa putt would have been “a lot more difficult’’ because of the “energy’’ of the fans.

“To see J.T. make that putt, he’s screaming, but no one else is screaming,’’ Woods said. “And then when Collin makes it — he didn’t have that much of a reaction — but the whole hillside on 18 would have just erupted.’’

The new reality is no fans until further notice. This week’s Memorial was slated to be the first PGA Tour event to be played with some fans. The plan was for about 8,000 per day, about 20 percent capacity, to be admitted. The governor of Ohio was on board with it, as was tournament host Jack Nicklaus.

But PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, in consultation with the players, opted against fans largely based on the recent nationwide spike in COVID-19 cases.

“I haven’t necessarily been in contention the last few times that we’ve played without fans, but if anything I’ve realized personally that it’s very hard for me to keep focus out here,’’ McIlroy said. “I feel like when there’s fans and there’s that energy and the atmosphere, it’s easy to get into that mindset that you need to get into. But when you don’t have that, I felt the first three weeks my mind was wandering a little bit. I think some of the mistakes I was making were because of that.’’

McIlroy said he’s glad he’s had three weeks to get acclimated to the new normal “to get a feel for what it was going to be like.’’

“Now, someone like Tiger hasn’t experienced that yet,’’ McIlroy said of Woods, who’s making his first start of the new schedule. “Maybe he’s going to find it a little weird going out there not having anyone [watching] — especially with the amount of crowds that he has to deal with all the time when he plays.’’

Woods said he’s planning to “just put my head down and play.’’

“Pretty much almost every competitive playing round that I’ve been involved in, I’ve had people around me, spectators yelling, a lot of movement inside the gallery with camera crews and media,’’ Woods said. “It’s going to be different.’’