Has Jay Monahan found himself in a quagmire? Earlier, the PGA Tour revealed its plans to not permit spectators’ entry into the Sedgefield Country Club, courtesy of the unfavorable weather conditions. But now, it appears the first round of the 2024 Wyndham Championship, where Jordan Spieth and the likes were set to tee off, might be canceled, as per rumors.
A tweet was shared by Todd Lewis, a reporter at Golf Channel and NBC, mentioning how there is a “real possibility” of no golf being played on Thursday, August 8, at the upcoming event in North Carolina. The reason? Well, it’s all thanks to Tropical Storm Debby and the 4–7 inches of predicted rain that will come about. But there’s a catch.
If the first day of play gets canceled, there is a real possibility of Round 1 being pushed to August 9, Friday. As a result, Spieth and the rest of the field, including Nick Dunlap, Brian Harman, and more, will play the second round on Saturday. The final day of play (Round 3), meanwhile, will fall on Sunday and would apparently consist of 36 holes.
The weather conditions truly do paint a risky picture for the athletes. With Debby descending on the mid-Atlantic, North Carolina will also witness possible wind gusts blowing at a speed of 25–30 mph. Couple that with the saturated soil in cases of excessive water, and the golfers, including Jordan Spieth, will find it hard to control the roll of the ball, not to mention the risk to one’s life. Earlier, it was also reported that the event would be delayed for eight hours with the Round 1 tee times not beginning “until at least 3 p.m. ET, with all tournament facilities closed until further notice.”
“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order,” informed the National Weather Service in a notification.
But how much rain is too much? 11-year PGA Tour veteran Ken Tackett, who is the tour’s chief referee, has some answers.
In an interview with Golf Digest, Tackett was asked how much of the decisions behind delaying are predicted, or rather, whether they simply predict or has some scientific reasoning to back it. Tackett responded, “There is some science to it, only because we’ve been here for so many years, we know what kind of volume the golf course holds. We know the drainage, and how much it takes to flood the lower parts of the golf course, so we can figure out if, for instance, it could hold two inches in three hours.
“We have that knowledge of the facility and the course, and the truth is this week, once the greens go, we kind of know that we’re done. There’s no need to try to squeegee anything, because it’s just going to continue to build.”
Wyndham Clark clinches a PGA Tour win amid a destructive storm
The second signature event of the 2024 PGA Tour season saw itself shortened to 54 holes after Gary Young, the circuit’s referee, assessed the course and conditions for the final day’s play. Initially, it was decided that round 4, if delayed, would be played on Monday, but the “storm affecting the Monterey Peninsula” on Sunday was predicted to continue the next day as well. This, in turn, resulted in a decision to shorten the event, allowing Clark to win it.
The PGA Tour Pro had, back then, carded a total of 17 under after the three days of play, during which he scored figures of 72-67-60.
Moreover, Saturday saw the athlete register a 12-under 60, allowing him to break the course record at the Pebble Beach Golf Links as well as rake in a career-low score. While Clark was able to make a record for himself in a storm-ravaged event, curiosity arises as to whether anyone in the current field for the Wyndham Championship might be able to do the same.
The Round 2 of this year’s Invited Celebrity Classic—scheduled for April 20, Saturday—was also pushed to Sunday, April 21 owing to inclement weather. Furthermore, the event was also reduced to a 36-hole event.
With weather playing spoilsport time and again, only time will tell how Jay Monahan handles the hurdles that lie ahead!
