Birds were chirping and birdies were falling as the PGA Tour resumed play Thursday with the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
Colonial member Ryan Palmer hit the first tee shot at 7:50 a.m., as the Tour headed into uncharted and uncertain territory after a 91-day break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also was a day full of red numbers.
On a bright, peaceful, windless day among the ancient trees of classical Colonial, the dominant sounds came from birds instead of spectators, who are not allowed for the first four PGA Tour events. Also drifting about the barren grounds were the soft tones of congratulations from player to player after good shots and good putts. The silence was further shattered by bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau, who was large and in charge with deafening drives that crashed through the 300-yard barrier to the tune of 354, 333, 337, 322, 317, 353 and 322 yards.
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Justin Rose, who won here in 2018 but has struggled to find his best form for months, made the most noise with a bogey-free, 7-under 63 to set the pace among the early finishers in the star-studded field of 148 players.
“Felt quite subdued out there for sure,” Rose said. “Sometimes you get up really early and some morning rounds on Tour can kind feel of a little subdued and quiet, but it never really picked up. Obviously it’s a bit of a strange situation for sure. It kind of feels like a competitive practice round.
“But obviously I think we all know what’s on the line. We all know what we’re playing for. We all know the competition this week is incredible.”
With ideal scoring conditions on hand at vulnerable Colonial, Jhonattan Vegas and Abraham Ancer came home with rounds of 64. At 65 were DeChambeau, Gary Woodland, Adam Hadwin, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman and 61-year-old Tom Lehman, who won this tournament in 1995.
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Phil Mickelson made a run at the leaders with three consecutive birdies but dropped back and finished with a 69. Defending champion Kevin Na shot 72.
“It’s certainly awkward not having everybody out here, but I’m certainly proud of the steps the PGA Tour has taken to have everybody be safe, feel safe in this environment and to hopefully entertain and have some people watching on TV even though they’re not here,” said Mickelson, who turns 50 on June 16. “I was certainly a little bit rusty and nervous but had a good round going, then kind of let it slide there in the end. But it was fun to be back out and competing.”
Rose couldn’t wait to get back and try and put his recent poor form behind him. In his four starts on the PGA Tour this year, he had missed three cuts and finished in a tie for 56th. He stands 205th in the FedEx Cup standings, had broken 70 just twice in 10 rounds and had fallen from No. 3 in the world last summer to No. 14.
Well, he wasted little time getting back on track as he began his round with three consecutive birdies and didn’t falter thereafter.
Rose needed just 24 putts but didn’t need his putter on his first hole when he rolled in his birdie from off the green using a hybrid. Rose playfully tipped his cap to an imaginary crowd. Despite his lowest round at Colonial, better things may be on hand.
“The good thing is I feel like I didn’t max everything out today,” Rose said. “Yes, my short game was good, my putting was good, but I feel like there’s another level there or another gear or two with the long game, so yeah, I feel like it’s important even though today was 63, I feel like it’s important to still be able to grow into the week and have areas of my game that can improve.”
Vegas made seven birdies en route to his 64. Seven hushed birdies, if you will.
“It felt strange to be honest, just kind of getting on the first tee and having your name called and not having anyone around to say anything, it felt like, hey, what’s going on here,” he said. “I hit a lot of good shots, and not hearing those claps, it felt odd. But it’s something we’re going to have to get used to for a little while.”
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