How Ryan Brehm’s wife, Chelsey, handles COVID-19, PGA Tour rules

Chelsey Brehm has been everywhere with her husband.

They met in 2007 at Michigan State University, got married in 2015, and continued to travel the world together. I am at home only 14 weeks a year.

Her husband is Ryan Brehm, a PGA Tour golfer.

“I have traveled practically full time with Ryan,” said Chelsey, “for the past five or six years.”

[ Live leaderboard: Follow Round 1 of the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic ]

The Rocket Mortgage Classic, which began Thursday at the Detroit Golf Club, will not allow spectators – not even spouses – to participate in person, similarly to the last three events of the Korn Ferry Tour in which he has participated since the restart of golf. And there is no one more devastated than Chelsey, the glue that holds them together.

“He will never get enough credit for what he does,” said Ryan, a native of Mount Pleasant. “He takes care of everything we do besides golf.”

Chelsey handles unexpected problems that arise, takes care of tickets for friends and relatives, prepares snacks, caddies and ensures that flights are handled weeks in advance. Not that Ryan is incapable, but he has found a habit of giving him less concern.

The couple were in Florida to prepare for a tournament when the Tour stopped on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chelsey, 33, and Ryan, 34, returned home to Traverse City, where all the inconsistencies in their lives became consistent.

[ Welcome back, Rocket Mortgage Classic. We definitely needed you ]

They had planned everything for the coming months. Self-described as the family planner, she tracked down all the reservations, made a guess as to how long the coronavirus referrals would last and made cancellations.

And there they are, stuck together in Traverse City.

Chelsey started cooking dinners; Ryan took care of the dishes. They cooked and grilled more meals than they had in the past four months. They widened the bridge, built a garden and painted a couple of rooms. The house needed love, he explained. They also split the wood together.

They engaged in this attitude: embrace the unknown, take some free time, train your body, train your brain and respect the Tour that is doing everything possible to return safely.

“We were grateful for that time,” said Ryan. “I shouldn’t say it was difficult. It was an adaptation and I understand that many people are going through difficult times, but in the end we had a break. And we took full advantage of it. “

[ Ex-MSU star Donnie Trosper and the Rocket Mortgage Classic: A PGA Tour debut unlike any other ]

They are members of LochenHeath Golf Club, but when they closed their doors, Ryan, who was just shooting some iron shots in the courtyard, had nowhere to play until the course reopened in mid-May.

He returned to professional golf three weeks ago for the first Korn Ferry event in months.

Ryan participated in two tournaments in Florida before playing in Utah last week, but Chelsea stayed at home in Traverse City. He followed a live stream whenever possible and continuously checked the charts.

“You’re like, update, update, update, what did 9 do?” she said.

He’s doing a lot more this week as Ryan attends his first Tour event in his home state since the 2005 Buick Open as an amateur. He got his Tour card after last season and participated in 13 events in 2020, making the cut eight times. His best goal: 35th place in the Puerto Rico Open.

Sitting at number 199 on the FedExCup leaderboard, Ryan has Tour Conditional status, which means he can only participate in tournaments if the players in front of him decide not to play. He was able to enter the Rocket Mortgage Classic camp.

The goal is to open the field for next week’s Workday Charity Open in Dublin, Ohio.

[ Brian Stuard will miss rush of home fans in 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic. Here’s his winning strategy ]

“He will be able to get out of Detroit if we find ourselves, who knows now, and then he will go home for the (next) week,” said Chelsey, discussing the COVID-19 protocols. “There’s a lot of thoughts going into the logistics of everything. We can’t just jump on one place and have two connections and be there. You want to fly directly.”

For the Rocket Mortgage Classic, they have found a place to stay just outside the center and have family members in the area. But when Ryan played 18 holes on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday to practice, Chelsey was nowhere to be seen.

And he won’t be around when he leaves at 1:45 pm on Thursday for his first round.

Chelsey is literally looking out this week, but once he is able to return, everything he does for Ryan’s golf game will be much sweeter.

“Don’t have her and obviously the rest of my family,” said Ryan. “They all want to be here, and I know. I get a lot of support. It would be nice if they could go out.”

Evan Petzold is a sports trainee at Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.