Classic Reactions

OMEGA DUBAI CLASSICS TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR SIMON CORKILL IS ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES IN THE SUDDENLY COMPLEX NEW WORLD THAT IS GOLF TOURNAMENT ORGANISATION

- KENT GRAY

A FEW DAYS EITHER SIDE of captivating victories by Daniel Berger and Webb Simpson at the Charles Schwab Challenge and RCB Heritage respectively, Nick Watney and Cameron Champ tested positive for coronavirus. Then, in a blink, Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka, like Champ, withdrew from the Travelers Championship in Connecticut after their respective caddies returned positives tests. Simpson and Chase Koepka scratched themselves hours later out of an abundance of caution. Cracks had suddenly appeared in the PGA Tour’s traveling bubble with fears it might burst, leading to another indefinite shutdown. Trying to navigate his own COVID-19 conundrum – namely how to get back to Dubai after being caught in Australia with the family when travel restrictions were imposed – Simon Corkill watched the drama unfold with a deeper interest than most. Like the rest of us, the return of top-flight golf, even without spectators, was heartening. Indeed, the golf was exceptional at times, Berger, Simpson, and co. showing few signs of ring rust. But as the Executive Tournament Director for Falcon and Associates, the positive tests on the other side of the world must have felt disconcerting close to home for the Englishman.