Weather woe hits Players Championship, delayed finish on cards

Torrential rain wreaked havoc at The Players Championship for a second straight day on Friday, washing out play and forcing a Monday finish at the prestigious $20 million tournament.

After decimating play on Thursday, heavy rain forced play to be suspended at TPC Sawgrass after just four hours on Friday, with players hauled off the course at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida due to “unplayable conditions”.

Nearly 50 players in the field had yet to complete their first round when play was stopped. PGA Tour officials later abandoned play for the day.

PGA Tour chief referee Gary Young said after the washout that the tournament would now be set for a Monday finish, provided there are no further significant interruptions over the weekend.

With a further weather system due to batter the course with high winds and rain, play will not resume before 11am (local time) on Saturday.

Young said around 3 inches of rain have drenched the course in the past 48 hours, with storms also bringing the threat of lightning, Young said.

However while acknowledging that a Tuesday finish was possible, he remained bullish that the tournament would now be completed on Monday.

“We are very confident at this point — we’re into a Monday finish. We know that,” Young said. 

“If our calculations on everything hold together and we’re able to start tomorrow, we certainly expect to be finished with the championship on Monday.”

The disruption means The Players Championship will see a Monday finish for only the eighth time in the tournament’s history. The last Monday finish occurred in 2005.

Young meanwhile said the poor weather could not have been anticipated. 

“Highly, highly unusual to have this pattern for this prolonged period this time of year, looking back at the historical data on it,” he said. 

“I would say at this point it’s just bad luck.”

Young added that there was no question of officials attempting to “rush” players through their rounds over the weekend.

“We are still building in our normal three hours between the two waves, making sure that things turn right on time, spacing them appropriately. We have a pace-of-play policy,” he said.

“We feel that we’ve got favorable conditions. Although it’s going to be windy, we feel we’re going to have the next two days rain-free following this weather event in the morning.”

England’s Tommy Fleetwood and American Tom Hoge remain the early leaders in the clubhouse.

Fleetwood and Hoge carded six-under-par 66s on Thursday.