The Field Looks Very English

English golfer Danny Willett had a two-shot lead over young Spanish sensation Jon Rahm as they approached the 18th tee on the final round of the BMW P.G.A. from last year. Championship

In the distance, Willett could see the huge grandstand ringing into the green about 500 yards away. The seats were packed with fans cheering on their fellow countryman at the Rolex Series tournament at the Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, England.

Under that pressure Willett drove off the fairway with 225 yards left. he hit a 5 iron safely on the green. He had a tap-in birdie putt for a three-stroke win.

"Taking on Johnny Rahm and playing golf that week felt great," he said last week. "After hitting the second shot on the green, I could do everything I could to get to 18, with that amphitheater full of fans."

The BMW Championship is just below the four major majors on the European Tour schedule and is the third Rolex Series event of the Race to Dubai 2020. The BMW Championship has historically attracted a strong field of participants and massive support from fans to the city, about an hour west of London.

Players will come from all over the world to an event held at the headquarters of the European Tour, a golf and residential complex. that was once a private estate. Today it has three 18-hole courses, a par-3 course and numerous houses on the property.

But this year is very different. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions and requires rigorous testing of participants. At most sporting events, the tournament will have no fans, but given the widespread nature of the European Tour, maintaining a healthy field will require more vigilance.

"The challenge for us is that each of our tournaments is an international event and as such completely different from the domestic sports leagues that resumed in several countries before we could," said Clare Bodel, a spokeswoman for the European Tour. "We had to develop a rigorous testing and safety plan that would be in line with international governmental and public health guidelines, which often change rapidly."

More important to the competition, however, is the strength of the field. And the field of participants in 2020 will not be as strong as in the past, with fewer top players from around the world, instead, the tournament will promote the home-grown English golfers who play in it, including Willett, Matt Fitzpatrick. , Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose.

Top European players who were there last year but live in the United States will not play. includes Rory McIlroy, who lives in Florida, and Paul Casey and Rahm, who both live in Arizona.

Last year, Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, defeated Rahm. Rahm was one of 23 players in the top 50 world golf rankings who attended the tournament. There were six more major championship winners that week who were not in the top 50 of the field and half a dozen other players who had won events of the Rolex Series or World Golf Championships.

Billy Horschel from the United States attended his first. BMW Championship and set the record low score for an American player in the tournament.

Horschel won't be there this year. Neither will any other American or Asian player be in the top rankings. Only a dozen of the top 50 players are in attendance. By the standards of any other tournament, no one would grumble. But this is a tournament with a storied history and a platinum list of winners including McIlroy, Francesco Molinari and Angel Cabrera.

The European Tour defended the strength of the field. “Entry into the BMW P.G.A. Championship, like all European Tour events, falls under the exemption category of a player, not his nationality or place of residence, "said Bodel.

But the power of the field raises the question of how to organize international golf events. as long as the pandemic lasts If the BMW Championship can't do it, what non-major events can it?

Willett, ranked 49th in the world this year, takes it In itself. "It is what it is," he said. "You can only play the guys out there. It's great to have to cancel 18 events and still be able to play these Rolex Series events."

The travel requirement is tough for players, especially now that the BMW Championship is wedged between the United States Open and the Masters.

"It's hard to ask these guys to travel back and forth from the United States ", said Willett." Last year ha These guys had downtime after the FedEx Cup, and guys like Billy Horschel and Andrew Putnam stopped by. Johnny Rahm was there. It is still a solid field.

The European Tour, which is more geographically dispersed than the PGA Tour, sought to reduce travel for its players by grouping tournaments by region in the reconstructed schedule. There was a British swing in the summer, followed by three tournaments in the Iberian Peninsula.

The BMW Championship is part of a second British swing, including the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open before it. , and a new tournament, the Scottish Championship, after that.

Willett, who lives in Florida, where he spent the lockdown, said he had adopted a similarly defined tournament schedule. He flew back and forth to the United States Open in New York and then to Scotland for this stage of the European Tour. When he returns to the United States he plans to play the three events leading to the Masters in November. Noting his more rigid travel schedule, he said, "It's just been strange."

Like all tour locations, the tournament has taken extra precautions. Ruth Scanlan, the club's marketing director, declined to comment on how the community is preparing. But the protocols of the European Tour will be there.

That means golfers should be tested before and after they arrive, not fans. But it also means restrictions that prevent anyone in the tournament from interacting with Wentworth residents or using the club's facilities outside of golf.

"All players, caddies, staff and media are only allowed to travel between their accommodation and the golf course.," Said Bodel. "They may not visit restaurants, shops or other local businesses outside of the bubble and therefore not in contact with the local population. "

For some, the more open field may prove to be an advantage and a boost to their career.

Garrick Higgo, a 21-year-old Southern African player, turned pro last year, but did not reach provisional status on the European Tour until February when the pandemic started to gain momentum, and last month he won the Open de Portugal by one strike for his first European Tour victory.

That win gave him champion status to play in current British swing and future Rolex Series events, finishing 84th at the Irish Open and tied for 26th at the Scottish Open.

One thing that is different for a young player like Higgo is the chance to qualify for the British Open by playing well at the Irish Open. Open. When the British Open was canceled this year, the Open Qualifying Series, which allows golfers who are not exempted, to play the field, was also canceled. Normally, the Scottish Open attracts a strong field of participants because it is the last shot to get into the Open.

Higgo, brimming with youthful confidence, loves his chances at the BMW Championship. “I couldn't be in a better place,” he said. “When I have fun, I play well. They are the same South African guys I've seen. Everyone is just more intense.

Especially the lack of fans could be an advantage for him. “I'm used to five people looking at me, not 1,000,” he said. "If there are no fans, that takes some of the pressure off me."

As for defending his BMW Championship title, Willett said he was just grateful that a tournament field had been collected. "For us guys who play worldwide, at this time and climate," he said, "it's great to still be doing our job and competing, to still be able to play at the weekend."