Rain has been the trend this week in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
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If you haven’t heard, it’s wet and cold and rainy at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., which has made for a disastrous start to the 2022 Players Championship.
The first round of the tournament was delayed on Thursday morning, again a few hours later and a handful of players never even teed off. Friday has already dealt with a lengthy delay and, to make matters worse, the weather forecast doesn’t look much better for Saturday. In fact, that’s when strong winds should come into play. (And you thought hitting the island green 17th was hard enough as is?)
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According to Gary Young, the chief referee of the tournament, who spoke to on-site media around noon on Friday after play was delayed again, the course received about 2 1/2 inches of rain in the past 24 hours.
“The golf course has reached a point where it’s unplayable, and we will ride this out as long as we can this afternoon,” he said. “If a window of opportunity presents itself, we’ll get back out there later today.”
You might have questions. We have answers (mostly courtesy of Young). Here’s what you need to know about the state of the Players Championship.
How does Saturday’s weather look?
Windy! “The conditions we’re going to be facing [Saturday] with the winds that are predicted, the pace of play is going to be slower as well,” Young said. “… In speaking with Wade [Stettner, the tournament’s on-site meteorologist], they’re anticipating some winds that could be in the area of 60 miles per hour as it comes through.”
What about Sunday’s weather?
Sunday will be cold and cloudy but with almost no chance of rain, so that’s good news. The course, however, is likely to be wet but playable.
What are the chances they can finish on Sunday?
Not great! “We may be in a situation where, if we don’t get back out there [on Friday], we’re assured of a Monday finish,” Young said.
What about a Tuesday finish?
Crazy, isn’t? Maybe not. “The potential is there,” Young said. “The potential, but let’s hope not. I think everything that we’re looking at, we feel very confident that we can finish this tournament by Monday.”
Could the Players just be shortened to 54 holes?
Very, very unlikely. According to the PGA Tour handbook, when it comes to the Players Championship, the commissioner has the ability to extend play beyond Monday in order to complete 72 holes. Better said: the PGA Tour does not want its marquee event cut short. Here’s the actual handbook, tweeted by No Laying Up:
With strong winds expected on Saturday, will fans be allowed on the course?
Probably, yes. “That has not been part of any of our discussions, the spectator part of it. I think, obviously, we’ll have internal discussions about that as well. But our expectations are to be back to normal operations once this system does move through,” Young said. “We’ll evaluate what’s gone on with the golf course and possibly with the structures, but I think everything is in a good spot to handle those type of winds, but we’ll just have to wait and see. It’s a lot of speculation.”
Will the potential of a delayed finish affect the cut, so fewer players can get more weekend golf in to finish sooner?
Probably not, because it might not make much of a difference. “I think that we would be making our normal cut,” Young said. “I don’t see a situation where 36 holes in one day would be possible [with a smaller field], if we lose the rest [on Friday].”
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