Dustin Johnson: We have a responsibility to set a corona-golf example

Two days after the PGA Tour revealed its blueprint for a return to competition next month at the Charles Schwab Challenge, a pair of the game’s top players endorsed the circuit’s health and safety efforts.

“I feel like hearing how a lot of the board meetings and PAC meetings have gone, the Tour is obviously taking it very seriously and going to all the measures needed to make sure that they’re confident going forward when we do get to Colonial that it’ll be the safest environment possible,” Rickie Fowler said.

Fowler will participate in the TaylorMade Driving Relief match on Sunday at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. Many of the protocols that the Tour will use next month at Colonial will be road tested at the charity match, including testing players for COVID-19, social distancing and a dramatically scaled-down tournament footprint.

The match will feature Fowler paired with Matthew Wolff against world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson in a skins game. Beyond the charity aspect of the event, the players understand it will also serve as an example.

“I think we have a big responsibility on ourselves to make sure that we practice all the guidelines that the PGA Tour is going to set in place,” Johnson said. “Everyone is going to be watching what we’re doing, so it’s very important for us to do it all correctly. We have a responsibility to ourselves and all the other players to stay safe and stay healthy.”