Life feels as normal as possible for Steve Jent.
The executive director for the Sanderson Farms Championship has been busy with his usual spring duties in preparation for his annual fall PGA Tour event. Securing sponsorship and hospitality sales, signing up tournament volunteers for their responsibilities, getting the pro-am field set up. Jent hasn’t missed a beat amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the tournament hasn’t lost a single sponsor and the pro-am field only has one slot yet to be filled. He was even able to squeeze in a joke when forecasting what the early October event will look like.
“We want the 2020 event to feel as much like the 2019 event as it can, other than maybe cooler temperatures,” Jent told the Clarion Ledger. “We had mid to upper 90s last year. Hopefully we won’t duplicate that.”
Jent doesn’t know how hot it will be in Mississippi come early fall, and he doesn’t know what the climate of the coronavirus situation will be then either. But he does know he’ll have plenty of examples to learn from before Tour professionals will tee it up at the Country Club of Jackson less than four months from now.
The Tour resumes its season June 11 at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s one of four events scheduled to be played without fans. By the time the Sanderson Farms Championship arrives, spectators are expected to be present in large numbers.
“For us, we have the luxury of time to kind of see how it all unfolds and transpires,” Jent said. “Our hope is that we’ll have our pro-ams, we’ll have people in hospitality tents, we’ll have spectators on the golf course and we’ll have a great field.”
As for the field, it could be impacted by the Tour’s schedule changes. The U.S. Open, normally played during Father’s Day weekend in June, was rescheduled to be played Sept. 17-20. The Ryder Cup will be played the following week. The Sanderson Farms Championship comes right after that.
The Ryder Cup, of course, consists of 12 of the best American players in the world pitted against 12 of the best Europeans. The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship coincides with the Ryder Cup, giving the vast majority of pro players who don’t make either Ryder Cup team a chance to keep playing.
Jent admitted that there could be some fatigue across the Tour come early October. But he also suggested that players who have been starved of tournament competition will look for ample opportunities to satisfy their cravings this autumn.
“Coming off the U.S. Open then going right to the Ryder Cup, yeah, some of the top players might want to take a week or so off before they head over for the Asian swing,” Jent said. “But I still think there are going to be guys who really, really want to play. They’ve been off for three months. I just think guys will be more inclined to play events in the fall.”
No matter who plays, the tournament’s goal remains the same: raise money for Batson Children’s Hospital. Jent is optimistic that goal will be met once again.
“I’m bullish on things,” Jent said. “I think things will be great. Every day that goes by, every week that goes by we will like we’re getting back to normal a little bit. I’m hopeful we’ll have a great event.”
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