By Ray Cardello for May 10, 2021. Season 1 / Post 114

So maybe it is hyperbole to say that the PGA will lead us out of the Pandemic, but it felt so great, felt so normal, to watch the huge crowds at the Wells Fargo. As Rory McIlroy was making his way up the 18th fairway on his way to his 19th victory, his first in two years, the massive crowd surrounding the 18th green began chanting his name in celebration. The scene was incredible, but the celebration for me was not a mask in sight.

For a moment, it was like being brought back to 2019 when this scene was just another final round on a lazy Sunday afternoon. But it is today, Mother’s Day in 2021. When we drove through town this afternoon, after playing nine at our local course, the flashing sign was still sending its fearful message from our town “leaders”: Mask Mandate still in effect. A Mask must be worn while walking downtown. The insanity of it all. The power-grab the sign represents. The state has already removed its Mask Mandate, but our brilliant selectmen know better. They are more attuned to the science. These are brilliant people who know how to manage our lives better than we do. You don’t have to ask them. Just read their sign and obey.

Watching the tournament should have been relatively uneventful. Rory held a two stoke lead and just had to bogey or better on 18. Rory was not going to let this win slip away. But then I started to notice the crowd. I thought the sheer number of people chanting Rory’s name was enough until I noticed that there was not a mask in sight. These people got it. They were outside where they are the safest, and there was no need to ruin the moment and experience by breathing stale air through a cloth mask. It was liberating. This is how life should be for us all. But no, not yet. The government is not ready for us to be normal just yet.

Watch Joe, Jill, Kamala, and Doug. All masks, all the time. Joe and Jill met with the Carters last week. Posing for a group picture. The two worst Presidents of all time and their wives. No Masks. Inside and no mask. As the Bidens left the Carters home, they donned their masks as they walked outside to their waiting car. By themselves, outdoors and masked! Kamala was caught kissing her husband goodbye as she boarded Air Force 2 on her way to Rhode Island. They kissed each other with their masks on! Come on, Man! Stop the insanity.

This is why the sights at the Wells Fargo were so surprising and welcome today. Our leaders, the two most important people in the world, and their spouses exude weakness, while a group of ordinary golf fans in North Carolina showed us strength. They showed us normal. They showed us how it should be.

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy for a great win. Congratulations to the people of Charlotte, NC, for today, you inspired the golf world. Today you inspired the world. The Pandemic has ruled our lives for the last fifteen months. Too many died and far too many were impacted in one way or another. We have won. We have beaten the China Virus. Like Rory, we are champions and we should be celebrating us….wthout the masks.