For the second day in a row, the PGA Players Championship, presented in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, was interrupted by torrential rains on Friday.
Tournament organizers are now considering stretching the event to Monday for the first time since 2005.
Forty-seven of the 143 golfers didn’t even finish their first round. No athlete has thus played more than 18 holes. The action was suspended at 3 p.m. and will not resume until 11 a.m. the next day. On Saturday, however, a “severe” weather system is expected between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
It is no longer the rain that will inconvenience the players in the afternoon or Sunday, but the wind and the cold, according to the latest forecasts.
A marathon to plan
Tournament chief official Gary Young has said with certainty that play will have to continue on Monday, according to the PGA website. In 2005, American Fred Funk won on a Monday by playing a 32-hole marathon in difficult conditions that day on the TPC Sawgrass course. We should expect to see the same thing this year.
“Unfortunately, the weather conditions are not giving us any lull,” admitted Young.
In the event of a tie, there could even be several winners since the three regulatory overtime holes at the Players Championship could not be held due to lack of time.
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and Americans Tom Hoge and Brice Garnett are on top at -6 after two days. The last of the three completed only 13 holes, stalling an eagle on the fourth pennant, his last of the day.
Taylor Pendrith is the highest-ranked Canadian, tied for ninth with eight other golfers. His first round of 68 shots (-4) was marked by four birdies and no bogeys.
His compatriots Corey Conners (70, -2), MacKenzie Hughes (72, E) and Roger Sloan (73, +1) have played at least 18 pennants. Saskatchewan’s Adam Hadwin has only set foot on 13 greens and is at -1.
