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7 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,June 11,2020 theifp.ca Pick uP Delivery indian cuisine or 210 Guelph Street, Georgetown, Ontario L7G 4A9 905-877-9161 WWW.GeorGeToWNTANDoori.coM ndian cuisine GEORGETOWN TANDOORi 7 DAYS A WEEK11:00Amto 9:00Pm GEORGETOWN T WE ARE OPEN GEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORiGEORGETOWN TANDOORi GET 20% OFF AdAms WindoW CleAning & Home mAintenAnCe Eavestrough Cleaning/Deck & Fence Repair 647.624.8755 | www.http://adamswindowcleaning.ca Open for Business Phone • Appointment • Social Distance Compliant On Thursday, the PGA Tour will return to play at the Charles Schwab Chal- lenge in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be anything but business as usual. There will be as much talk about testing and physical dis- tancing as there will be about bogeys and birdies. While most professional sports are still trying to fig- ure out the logistics of re- turning to play, the PGA Tour is forging ahead. The Charles Schwab Challenge will be a critical testing ground for future events and the man in charge of creating the blue- print is Limehouse native Michael Tothe. The Acton High School grad has served as the tour- nament director since 2012, carrying on a tradition es- tablished in 1946 of PGA events at the Colonial Country Club. But that run looked to be in jeopardy when the PGA cancelled or moved every event before May 20. The Schwab Chal- lenge was originally sched- uled May 21. Despite the uncertainty, Tothe continued to line up corporate sponsors, giving them the option of defer- ring their commitment to 2021 if the tournament wasn't held. Then came the call from the PGA Tour, asking if they would be able to move their date back three weeks to become the first tourna- ment since the Players Championship was can- celled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. "It was a little daunting at first with nine weeks to get ready," the 48-year-old said. "Then I thought, 'Let's do it.' We've got a great staff here and good community support." Tothe grew up playing golf at the Club at North Halton, where his dad, Jack, was a member. Though he liked hockey, golf came easy to him. School did not. "My high school grades were awful," said Tothe, who said he was later tested for dyslexia. But he was determined to continue his education and sent letters to 500 U.S. col- leges. He got a golf scholar- ship at Shorter University in Georgia where he stud- ied recreation manage- ment. After graduating, he be- gan working for the Amer- ican Junior Golf Associa- tion, organizing tourna- ments. He returned home to run Golf Canada's (then the Royal Canadian Golf Association) amateur championships for four years. After two years working in Singapore, he moved to Texas when his wife Holly was offered a job as a golf coach in her home- town of San Antonio. Tothe began working at Colonial and became tour- nament director for the PGA event the club hosts each year eight years ago. Tothe and his staff de- vised several different rev- enue plans and have had to shift as circumstances change. Originally plan- ning for an event with spec- tators, the PGA later an- nounced there would be no fans. "That was like a big pres- sure release valve," he said. "Once it was decided there were no fans, we could real- ly focus on the safety of the players and caddies and volunteers." Of course, the absence of fans and corporate tents eliminates major sources of revenue. Last year, the tourna- ment raised more than $14 million for charity, but even with several revenue streams disappearing, Tothe is not giving up on providing for the local or- ganizations. They are hav- ing players sign items -- "being Canadian, I got Ad- am Hadwin to sign a hock- ey stick," Tothe said. Fans around the world can then go on the tournament web- site and buy raffle tickets to win the items. While some players were happy to get back playing, others still had concerns and Tothe said some reached out to him di- rectly. In the end, he said it is probably the strongest field in 20 years with the top five players in the world -- Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin John- son -- as well as Jason Day, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. There have been other unique aspects to or- ganizing the tournament: setting up testing sites, new protocols for cars for play- ers, even things as basic as meals for the players. Tothe said the PGA Tour has been very helpful in setting protocols and guidelines while it has been up to him and his team to implement them. "It's been challenging, but it's been fun. I hope golf fans around the world tune in. The goal is get through the week with everyone healthy and safe," Tothe said. "Hopefully we're set- ting the bar for the next few events." NEWS LIMEHOUSE NATIVE PLAYING KEY ROLE IN RETURN OF PGA TOUR TOTHE GUIDES FIRST TOURNAMENT BACK FROM COVID-19 HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com Michael Tothe will be the tournament director for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be the first PGA tournament since the season was halted three months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael Tothe photo