‘I need to compete.’ Pair of Kentucky pro golfers ready to get back on the course.
As he’s done for his entire adult life, Josh Teater was gearing up to compete in a professional golf tournament when news began to spread in early March that sports were shutting down across the globe because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I remember I was at home practicing and getting ready to go to a Monday qualifier the next week, and then things just happened so quickly. The NBA shut down and we all realized this was really serious,” Teater told the Herald-Leader in a recent phone interview. “Since then things have just been on pause and now we’re just trying to kick back into gear.”
Teater, a Kentucky native and graduate of Morehead State University, has made a living playing golf for nearly 20 years, bouncing mostly between the PGA Tour and what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour. He has made the most of his downtime the last couple of months in St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia, where he moved from Lexington with his wife and two children about five years ago. But now, he’s ready to get back to doing what he loves.
“It was a good break for a little while but I’m definitely ready to get back out there. I’ve played for so long that there’s something in me that I need to get out there and I need to compete,” Teater said.
It looks like a return to competition is imminent for Teater, as golf is set to be among the first professional sports to resume play amid the pandemic. The PGA is scheduled to return to action June 11-14 with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas — albeit with no fans in attendance.
“It looks like it’s going to happen. I haven’t heard anything different, so I’m preparing like it is,” Teater said. “I’m starting to get back at it to try and get ready for that event.”
Another professional golfer with Kentucky roots is also looking forward to resuming her career. Former Caldwell County star Emma Talley is hoping the LPGA’s plan to restart competition in mid-July at the Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Michigan comes to pass.
“I haven’t played in a tournament in about three months. That hasn’t happened since I was 9 years old and I wasn’t even playing golf, so it’s very strange,” Talley told the Herald-Leader in a phone interview. “If we can get back out there and play, even with no spectators, I think it’ll be great for the game of golf. To get back out there and play and to have golf on TV will be good for the players and the fans.”
Keeping busy
Talley owns a home in Nashville, but she has spent quarantine with her boyfriend and family at her parents’ home in Princeton, Ky.
“I have a good situation. I’ve just been working out and practicing and trying to stay patient. We’ve been hanging out with my family, which has been really good,” Talley said. “I’m very blessed. I have food on the table, a place to stay, I can pay my bills. There’s a lot of people who are really suffering, so I think you’ve just got to focus on the blessings. It’s a hard time for everybody, and I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Talley’s parents live on a golf course that has remained open throughout the lockdown, so she has been able to maintain her skills. In fact, she was planning to hit the driving range after our conversation.
“I feel so lucky, it’s been really nice for me. I’m living at home on a golf course that’s still open and I get to practice every day,” Talley said. “I’ve just been enjoying the downtime and playing whenever I can.”
Likewise, Teater has been keeping his game sharp. After first enjoying a nice break, that is.
“With the uncertainty, especially at the beginning, about when we were going to play again I figured, ‘I’m going to use this time to take a break.’ So for about three weeks I didn’t do much of anything. I think I went to the course twice and did nine holes,” Teater said. “In the last couple weeks I’ve been more active — going out three or four days a week and getting some practice in … Two weeks out, I’ll really start getting some nice competition to get ready. We’ve got about 15-20 other guys around here who are either on the big tour or the Korn Ferry Tour, so we’ll start ramping up and getting ready to compete and get out on the road.”
Both Teater and Talley have used the extended break to pursue other interests.
“I’ve found new hobbies, which has been fun. I’ve been training for a half-marathon,” Talley said. “I never thought I’d say I enjoyed training for a marathon, that’s not me at all, but after the first couple of months I’m starting to get in a rhythm.”
She has also discovered a brand new skill.
“I had always liked to cook, but I’ve found a true love for that the past three months. I’ve been cooking a whole lot and I really, really enjoy it,” Talley said. “Some things I cook better than others, but it’s all been edible. I haven’t made anything twice. I try to do something different every night.”
Her best reviewed creation so far was homemade gnocchi, an Italian dish involving pasta and potatoes.
“It had a homemade tomato-cream sauce; it was very yummy. I’ve been making all kinds of things. It’s hard to not gain any weight during this even though I’m working out so much because I’m cooking so much, too.”
Talley’s sister-in-law is from Thailand and once owned a Thai restaurant. She has been teaching Talley the secrets of her native cuisine.
“She’s taught me how to cook some curry and some pad thai, all the top hits,” Talley said.
Teater has also been staying active while waiting for professional golf to resume.
“We’ve been playing a whole lot of wiffle ball in the backyard. We’ve been able to get out and ride bikes, we’ve fished a little bit. Of course, you abide by all the social distancing rules but it’s been a good time to kind of take a break,” he said. “I’ve got a 5-year-old and a 2-and-a-half-year-old, so taking them on bike rides has been fun. There’s been a lot of time to invent new things to do.”
Teater has also honed his skills at pickleball, a paddleball sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong.
“I got introduced to it about two years ago and got hooked. It’s become one of my favorite hobbies,” Teater said. “We got a home net for our driveway. We’ve been getting out there and playing pickleball quite a bit.”
‘You’ve got to trust them’
The PGA and LPGA are still working out details regarding new policies once professional tours ramp back up, but Teater and Talley are confident they’ll be able to compete safely once that time comes.
“Definitely the No. 1 priority from the PGA Tour’s perspective is safety. I know they’re talking with the CDC and others about what we need to do to be able to compete in a safe environment, if testing is going to be involved and how that’s going to work out. I’ll let them deal with all the ins and outs of that, I trust that they’re doing the right things,” Teater said. “If it wasn’t safe I don’t think they’d be going ahead. There’s just too much to risk.”
Talley also expressed faith in the decision-makers behind the scenes.
“I don’t think they’re going to put us out there if they don’t think it’s safe,” she said. “At this point it seems like the rules change day to day, so it is a bit scary. Ours is a global tour so we have a couple of events in Europe and Asia, and it’s a little scary to think about going to those places anytime soon. But at the end of the day I think the PGA and the LPGA will make the right decisions. You’ve got to trust them and you’ve also got to be careful yourself. When we do start playing I’m going to be wearing a mask everywhere I go and washing my hands diligently. You’ve just got to do your part and also trust those people in charge.”
One safety measure that seems certain is that when professional tours resume, fans will be absent for some time. Talley said that will certainly provide a unique experience.
“It’s been a long time since that’s happened, probably junior golf. It’s going to be very strange with no fans,” she said. “That’s not really why we play; we play because we love to compete and I want to beat all the other girls playing next to me. But it is going to be a different atmosphere for sure, especially for the men. We have a lot of fans on the LPGA, but those guys on the PGA, that last Sunday round with no spectators is going to be really strange.”
Lamenting the Barbasol
The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic cost Kentucky its PGA Tour event this year. The Barbasol Championship, which has been held in Nicholasville the past two years, was canceled this summer along with the British Open, the PGA major that runs parallel to the Barbasol.
Teater competed in the Barbasol Championship both years, finishing tied for sixth place in 2019. He was saddened that his home state missed out on the chance to host a PGA event this summer.
“It’s tough. Obviously my goal is always to be at the Open Championship, but the Barbasol is a really nice contingency plan. It’s great to come home and spend time with friends and family and compete at a place I know well,” Teater said. “I was sad to hear it was canceled, but I understand that it just wouldn’t work this time. I think next year it’ll be even bigger and better. If I’m there I’ll definitely be looking forward to it, but if I’m not there it’ll mean that I’m across the pond, which would be great.”
The return of golf
Professional golf is set to resume tour play next month. Here are the first scheduled events on each tour, all of which are tentative pending evolving conditions amid the pandemic:
MEN:
PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge at Fort Worth, Texas (June 11-14)
PGA European Tour: Betfred British Masters at Newcastle upon Tyne, England (July 30-Aug. 2)
PGA Champions Tour: The Ally Challenge at Grand Blanc, Mich. (July 31-Aug. 2)
Korn Ferry Tour: Korn Ferry Challenge at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (June 11-14)
WOMEN:
LPGA Tour: Marathon LPGA Classic at Sylvania, Ohio (July 23-26)
Ladies European Tour: Mediterranean Ladies Open at Sitges, Spain (July 16-19)
Symetra Tour: Prasco Charity Championship at Maineville, Ohio (July 8-10)
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 7:33 AM.
