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World No.1 Rory McIlroy will tee up at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday as a star-studded field looks to mark the PGA's resumption from a three-month suspension in style.

Each of the world's top five players will be at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, with McIlroy starting in a mouth-watering group alongside world No.2 Jon Rahm and third-ranked Brooks Koepka.

"For people to have something to watch on TV where they actually don't know the outcome I think is going to be nice for them," said McIlroy.

"I'm excited. I'm excited to be back on the road and doing what I'm supposed to do: play golf and compete."

McIlroy believes the sport is perfectly suited to the new circumstances imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, but asked for patience as those involved take their first steps into a new environment.

"I think it's an important week because golf can show that we can play in a socially distant manner. We can conduct a tournament and adhere to all the safety protocols that have been put in place," he said.

"It is going to be very easy to fall back into old habits because it's just what we've done. I'd say for the viewing public just to give the players and the caddies a little bit of leeway in terms of if they see something on TV that isn't quite right."

McIlroy went on to suggest the recent sense of co-operation between those involved at the highest level could lead to more dramatic structural changes such as a merger between the PGA and European Tour.

"I think for the health of both tours ... a 'world tour' is something I've always wanted, but it has to be done the right way.

"Whether it's some European Tour events offering FedExCup points and some PGA TOUR events offering Race to Dubai points, I don't know, but just a little bit more cohesion."

Koepka made no secret of the fact he is looking to unseat McIlroy, adding an extra competitive element to their initial outing alongside Rahm.

"I've got eyes on Rory," said Koepka. "That's the goal, to get back to No.1 in the world. That's the whole point of playing: to be the best.

"If I take care of my business, then I don't see any reason why I couldn't get back to that."

There will be no play at 8.46am, with a moment's silence held in honour of George Floyd, who prosecutors claim was knelt on by police for eight minutes and 46 seconds and killed in Minneapolis last month.

The move to cancel the tee-time as a mark of respect received widespread backing with Koepka describing it as "really special", Jordan Spieth calling for the idea to be extended "however long we need to" and McIlroy praising "a wonderful gesture".

The PGA Tour is leaving the 8:46 am tee time vacant this week at Colonial as part of a tribute to George Floyd and to support efforts to end racial and social injustice.

In a memo to players on Tuesday, Commissioner Jay Monahan said there would be a moment of silence in each of the four rounds at the Charles Schwab Challenge that will coincide with the 8:46 am tee time.

The time reflects how long - eight minutes, 46 seconds - handcuffed African American man Floyd was pinned to the ground under a white Minneapolis police officer's knee before he died.

"It has quickly become a universal symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community," the memo said.

The PGA Tour has been shut down the last three months because of the coronavirus pandemic, and it returns at Colonial with attention shared among the health and safety concerns of running a tournament and the civil unrest sparked by Floyd's death across the country.

Monahan had written a memo last week to staff and players in which he said while it was difficult to figure out what role he should play, "we shouldn't be deterred."

The moment of silence will start with three short blasts of the horn. The tour is asking players on the course, just arriving or in the practice areas to pause for one minute of reflection "as we pay our respects to the lives lost and also commit ourselves to using the tour platform as past of the solution."

Monahan also said the tour was working on a long-term financial commitment.

Tiger Woods and the fans will be missing when competitive golf returns this week after a three-month hiatus due to coronavirus.

The Charles Schwab Challenge will otherwise get the full major treatment with a strong field on display, including an Australian contingent that features Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.

Led by world No.1 Rory McIlroy, the world's top five players and 101 PGA Tour winners will be at the stately Colonial Country Club outside Forth Worth, Texas.

Play starts on Thursday in the first tournament since the Players Championship was halted in mid-March by the pandemic.

With NASCAR, IndyCar and the UFC already back in action, the PGA Tour will become the latest sport to emerge from the COVID-19 shutdown in North America.

But like the conditions surrounding those sports, golfers will be returning to a very different looking arena where social distancing and the results of nasal swabs and thermal scans will be as important as what they put on their scorecards.

"If we all want to get back and play the game that we love and not just for us but for the fans and everybody at home, we're just going to have to get over the fact that it's going to be different and be a little weird," world No.4 Justin Thomas told reporters after a practice round on Tuesday.

The most jarring change will be the absence of galleries that would normally flock to any tournament featuring the world's best players.

Golf's biggest name and winner of 15 majors, Woods will be the only noticeable absentee in the elite field as he continues to get his game in shape after recovering from back issues.

Television coverage of the Charles Schwab will include a few new features like augmented reality technology virtual signage while some golfers will wear microphones in an effort to liven up a subdued soundtrack.

"The atmosphere will definitely be different," Thomas said.

"But then again, everything is different than what we've been used to the last three months."

Despite the talent-laden field, Thomas expects a dip in the quality of play "because of rust".

Spain's world No.2 Jon Rahm said he did not pick up a club for seven weeks during the lockdown.

The Evian Championship, one of five women's golf major tournaments, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament, due to take place at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France, was earlier moved from July 23-26 to August 6-9 due to the coronavirus-enforced shutdown.

With ongoing uncertainty surrounding travel restrictions and government quarantine requirements, the organising committee has concluded that conditions for a "safe event" are not in place.

"Our top priority is of course to ensure everyone stays healthy and safe. All of our teams are very affected by the forced cancellation of our major, but we must not lose sight of what matters most," tournament chairman Franck Riboud said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We are already committed to the next edition in 2021 to fully rediscover the values and the spirit of a family celebration, the conviviality and emotions that have made our Major unique for more than 25 years."

The Women's British Open is still scheduled for August 20-23 at Royal Troon in Scotland.

The other three major events - the ANA Inspiration, Women's PGA Championship and US Women's Open - to be played in the United States have been rescheduled for later in the year.

The fields of golf-starved stars are so strong as the US PGA Tour returns that early tournaments will feel like major championships, says Marc Leishman.

World No.15 Leishman is among 15 of the world's top 20 players, including No.1 Rory McIlroy and No.3 Brooks Koepka, preparing for Thursday's tour restart at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas.

He's one of 13 Australians teeing up this week either there, or at the secondary Korn Ferry Tour event in Florida, as tour golf comes out of its 90-day shutdown due to coronavirus.

An excited Leishman travelled from his home in Virginia to Texas on Monday, determined to quickly recapture the form that earned him his fifth US tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open in California in January.

He admitted it would be extremely tough to win with some many top players eager to make an early mark in the condensed season ahead.

"The fields for the first few events are so strong that they will feel a bit like the majors and that will help with motivation," Leishman told AAP.

"Winning again and making sure I secure a really good starting position for the (season-ending) Tour Championship (in August) will keep me pretty fired up."

No crowds or handshakes, regular nasal swabs and golfers wearing microphones on course are part of the new look for the tour following the hiatus.

The safety protocols require players, caddies, tournament officials and tour employees to undergo coronavirus tests before travelling and they will be subject to at least two tests on site at each event.

"There have already been some very awkward fist bumps when someone has gone in for a handshake with me but realised we can't and withdrawn and that's going to happen for a few months," Leishman said.

"Getting a four-inch swab shoved up your nostril is different, but that's expected and it's a measure to keep us all safe,."

Host broadcaster CBS announced Tuesday that select players will be mic'd up while they compete and a "confession cam" will allow for some on-course interviews.

"It's going to be weird without crowds; it'll be funny if I wave to a non-existent crowd when I make a birdie putt," Leishman joked.

Joining Leishman at Colonial Country Club this week are countrymen Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Cameron Davis, Matt Jones and sponsor's invitee John Senden.

Stalwart Robert Allenby will feature on the Korn Ferry Tour event alongside fellow Australians Ryan Ruffels, Brett Coletta, Harrison Endycott, Curtis Luck, Brett Drewitt and Jamie Arnold at Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.

The PGA Tour will allow spectators at next month's Memorial Tournament.

The event from July 16-19, held at Muirfield Village in Ohio, will be the first with fans in attendance since the coronavirus pandemic.

The PGA Tour resumes next week with the Charles Schwab Challenge but the first five events will be behind closed doors.

A post on the event's official Twitter page read: "It's official, thanks to State approval & support from the @PGATOUR, patrons will be permitted to attend the 45th edition of #theMemorial.

"More details coming soon regarding protocols designed to promote the health & safety of all who will be on-site at this year's Tournament."

The move could open the door to seeing spectators admitted at this year's Ryder Cup.

There have been calls for September's biennial showpiece between the US and Europe to be delayed if fans cannot attend, with players including world number one Rory McIlroy backing a postponement until 2021.

Steve Stricker, who will captain the US side at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, said earlier this week that it would be "almost a yawner of an event" without spectators.

Australian world No.6 Adam Scott and Masters champion Tiger Woods are among few stars that will be missing when the PGA Tour returns after three months.

The 148-man field for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial features the top five golfers in the world - Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.

The only players from the top 10 who are not playing are Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood - Scott and Fleetwood live overseas and would have faced a 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

With Scott unavailable, world No.15 Marc Leishman will be the highest ranked Australian competing at Fort Worth along with fellow top 100 compatriots Cameron Smith, Jason Day and Matt Jones.

Woods, the biggest name in world golf, chose not to play.

He has only played Colonial once, in 1997, when he was going for his third straight victory and shot 72 in the final round to finish three shots behind.

The tour shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of sports, after the opening round of The Players Championship on March 12.

The return requires players to be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival and, for those taking a charter to the next tournament at Hilton Head, another test before they leave.

They will also have daily thermal readings and health questionnaires. That also applies to caddies and what the tour deems essential personnel.

Despite the missing names, the field features 18 of the top 25 in the world, giving it a strength-of-field comparable to a World Golf Championship.

The tour returns, if all goes according to plan, to a full schedule for the rest of the year.

Colonial marks the first of 27 tournaments over a 26-week period through to December 6.

That schedule includes three majors.

Holding golf's Ryder Cup later this year without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic would almost make the event "a "yawner", US captain Steve Stricker has said.

Golf's calendar has been decimated by the coronavirus outbreak, with three of the sport's four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled.

The biennial Ryder Cup competition between the United States and Europe is scheduled for September 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and fans are unlikely to be able to attend if it goes ahead.

"This event is made by the fans. If it was without fans, it almost would be a yawner of an event," Stricker told Golf Affect Radio. "To cheat out the Wisconsin fans would be a crime. I hope when we do have it, it can be up to its full potential.

"So far, we're planning it as it's a go ... But there's some obstacles that we're going to have to face," Stricker added.

Reports have said the PGA of America and the European Tour will decide this month if the event will go ahead.

World No.1 Rory McIlroy has said he thought the event is unlikely to take place this year and that postponing it would be the right call.

More than 106,000 people have died in the United States due to COVID-19.

Jason Day is raring to go at next week's US PGA Tour restart, aiming to reboot his own career in the congested schedule ahead.

The former world No.1 used the coronavirus shutdown to rest his chronically-injured back before knuckling down to practice.

He is happy with his form after spending plenty of time recently working with long-time coach Colin Swatton - even though his mentor managed to upstage him with a hole-in-one during a practice round in Pittsburgh this week.

Without a victory in more than two years, 12-time US tour winner Day has seen his world ranking plummet to No.51.

He will be setting out to repair that when the tour resumes at the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament at Colonial CC in Texas next Thursday.

"Col and I have been putting in some decent hours and I've been playing well, so I can't wait to get things going," Day told AAP from Ohio.

"I'm really looking forward to getting after it because my back feels better. Overall, I'm really pleased with progress I've made in a short time.

"I have stepped up the practice during the last month or so. My game is feeling good and I just need to tighten the screws now."

On Wednesday, the tour announced a mobile coronavirus test centre supplied by sponsor Sanford Health will travel to each tournament to test players, caddies and essential personnel - there will be no crowds.

The test centre aims to give results within two to four hours, with some 400 individuals to be tested each event.

"The PGA Tour and (commissioner) Jay Monahan are doing the best job they possibly can to get us going again," Day said.

"At these first few events, everyone will be nervous about what they can and can't do but we will find our footing and the anxiety will ease a bit,."

Other Australians expected to tee up at Charles Schwab Challenge are Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith, Matt Jones and John Senden.

The US Tour will then stage the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, the Travelers Championship in Connecticut and Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan.

After that, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village course in Ohio will host rare back-to-back events, according to Golf Digest.

A 156-player tournament sponsored by financial management company Workday will be held at the Columbus, Ohio course in place of the cancelled John Deere Classic.

Nicklaus will then host his prestigious Memorial invitational tournament for an elite field of 120.

"It will be a big relief to be able to play and stay at home," said Day, a Columbus resident.

While COVID-19 testing will be a condition of competition when the PGA Tour resumes next week, at-home tests before travelling to a tournament are "strongly encouraged", but not required.

A 34-page participant resource guide issued on Monday states players and caddies must begin self-screening for seven days prior to tournament travel.

The self-screening process includes a daily questionnaire and temperature readings. Any participant who tests positive at a tournament will only receive a stipend from the PGA Tour if they took an at-home test before travelling and tested negative.

"Without a vaccine, we know that we cannot mitigate all risk whether at work or in our daily lives. However, the plan we are implementing is designed to reduce the risk as much as possible," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in the guide.

"We all look forward to a return to normalcy, and that day will come. In the meantime, we ask that you embrace the necessary measures outlined in this document for the safety of everyone in our PGA Tour family."

The PGA Tour, which has been dormant since March 12, returns to action next week at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

The world's top five golfers headlines a stacked field at the June 11-14 tournament that will be closed to spectators.

Upon arriving in a tournament host city, players and caddies must proceed to the testing site to receive a nasal swab test and thermal screening.

The PGA Tour said it hopes to provide results in a matter of hours and players will have access to practice areas while they await their result.

Once a negative test result is received, players will be issued a wristband or lanyard that grants them access to the locker room and clubhouse.

Those who test positive will be quarantined while a "disinfecting/decontaminating response" is implemented to ensure all possible items and surfaces touched by the infected individual are quickly cleaned.

If a participant is denied access to a tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test, they must receive medical clearance from their doctor before being allowed to participate in future PGA Tour events.

The participant resource guide also says players and caddies must have social distancing requirements in the forefront of their minds, always staying at least six feet away from others, whenever possible.