FORT WORTH, Texas – The sound of silence should be deafening this week at Colonial Country Club.
The sound of crickets is considered all players will hear when competing at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first of four PGA Tour events on the revised COVID-19 schedule to be played without spectators.
But what sounds could be heard from one corner of the Colonial, applause and cheers of the players and even a speaker announcer who introduced the players as they walked to the 16th tee?
Who said this week there were no spectators at Colonial?
Not Pat Henggeler, whose house faces the 15th and 16th green tees on the golf course.
Henggeler, as a colonial member with 9 defects known in this section for gathering one or two good parties at his home during the Colonial week, has created the only party in town for the Charles Schwab Challenge this week.
On Monday, he has a grandstand set up next to his house that offers views of the 15th green and the 16th tee. If you have watched CBS broadcasts from the tournament and you have heard occasional applause, it comes from the Henggeler stands.
In what will always be a strange week for players with a quiet spectator golf course, Henggeller’s pop-up party has become a welcome oasis for them as is the case for 100 or more people who have visited. cool off with drinks from the Henggeller outdoor bar.
One of the coincidental tour stars for the Henggeler show is Mason Michell, who is organically an unofficial announcer.
“Mason did a very good job and we were like,” That’s our person, “Henggeler said.
So Michell, equipped with a cheat sheet that he created with facts on each player, booming introductions as each reached the 16th tee.
The highlight of this week is when Michell, recognizing Bryson DeChambeau who was recently introduced, introduced him on Friday as if he were a boxer entering the ring for a heavyweight battle.
“I think it’s amazing what they do, saying I came in with 300 or whatever pounds, that’s funny,” DeChambeau said. “I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to have people rooting for you once in a while out there. We don’t get that very much now. ‘
Michell, who just graduated from Texas A&M will start working as an accountant, said, “I’m not trying to say anything controversial or anything. We want the players to come back and enjoy coming here. Phil [Mickelson] got a kick out of us when we talked about how he hit the bomb. He enjoyed it. ‘
When 54-hole leader Xander Schauffele finished a birdie putt on the 15th green to reach 13-under and tied Jordan Spieth to lead at the time, an explosion of applause was heard in the background of the Henggeller stands, and CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said to his colleague, Nick Faldo: “Remember what the crowd sounded like, Nick?”
Mason Michell announced the players on the 16th hole at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Saturday in the emergency stands at a nearby home.Mark Cannizzaro
Previously, during my visit, the first intro I heard was:
“Coming to number 16 in the green is the 2017 Colonial winner, Kevin Kisner,” Michell’s voice shouted over the loudspeaker with a good dose of pro-wrestling decoration. “And with him are‘ Mr. 58 ‘and former US Open winner, Jiiiiim Fuuuuryk.’
During my visit to the party, each player acknowledged love and attention.
“I think maybe they are also starving for fans,” Henggeler said.
“By the time they get here, you can tell the players that there are 15 holes and they have never seen anyone but their caddy,” John Eckelbarger, who works for Henggeler, said. “Then they got here and there were 100 people supporting them.”
This is a love work for Henggeler, who estimates he spends nearly $ 20,000 on set-ups, which include closed stands, widescreen TVs, fans to fight 100-degree temps, bartenders, liquor, food and portable toilets.
Henggeler doesn’t charge money to enter. The people there are friends, coworkers and neighbors, some of whom have offered donations that Henggeler plans to make for charity.
The only negative for this program, as far as I know, is the lack of social distance between the people who are there. There, too, there were no signs of faces covering anyone – besides me – during my visit.
Apparently, when it comes to face masks, Texas hasn’t gotten a memo about masks.
“I don’t think about it at all,” Henggeler said when asked about the concern of having 100 people so close to each other in the middle of a pandemic. “In our restaurant (they have a Mexican place in Arlington), we have served 30,000 people since May 1. I am not a scientist.”
