Round 1 of Players Championship stretches into Saturday, with Monday a lock

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA Tour officials hoped for four hours of play Friday before the worst of the weather moved in – and that’s exactly what unfolded at The Players Championship.

It still won’t be enough to keep the Tour’s showcase event on track for a Sunday finish.

After players trudged through a steady rain all morning, they were again hauled off TPC Sawgrass once the waterlogged course became unplayable. With nearly three inches of rain in the past 36 hours, water pooled in both the fairways and on the greens, leading to a suspension of play at 11:15 a.m. ET. Though officials initially held open the possibility of returning, play was eventually called for the day four hours later.

“The golf course has just reached a point of saturation,” said PGA Tour chief referee Gary Young, “and unfortunately the weather conditions are just not providing us any relief.”

Headed for its first Monday finish since 2005, this Players has turned into a long, sloppy slog.

Full-field scores from The Players Championship

Two days into the Tour’s flagship event, 47 players have yet to finish their opening rounds, including pre-tournament headliners like world No. 2 Collin Morikawa, defending champion Justin Thomas and 2019 winner Rory McIlroy.

With more inclement weather expected, play is scheduled to resume no earlier than 11 a.m. Saturday – but even that might be a moving target.

Tour meteorologist Wade Stettner said the front that is sweeping across the southeast will hammer the area between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday, with strong storms and potential wind gusts exceeding 60 mph. Once those storm cells clear, officials are expecting the temperatures to plummet into the 50s with sustained winds of 25 mph – but at least no more precipitation through Monday.

With the latest delay, Young said the target finish time is now at about 6:30 p.m. Monday, leaving time for both a re-pairing between the third and final rounds and the possibility of a three-hole aggregate playoff, if necessary. There hasn’t been a Tuesday finish on Tour since 2013.

BY Rex Hoggard

 — March 11, 2022 at 2:29 PM

For a generation of players who think of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass as nothing more than a pitching-wedge hole, Saturday’s cold front promises to be truly chilling.

“We feel very confident that we’re going to be able to accomplish the conclusion of this championship on Monday evening,” Young said.

The clubhouse leaders didn’t even hit a shot on Friday.

After enduring a 4 ½-hour delay, Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge finished their matching rounds of 6-under 66 in the fading daylight Thursday and, with more nastiness expected, could wait until Sunday morning to begin their second rounds. For now, they’ve been joined at the top by Brice Garnett, who holed out for eagle on the par-4 fourth hole before the horn sounded.

“We knew it was going to be a long day potentially today,” Garnett said. “We were just trying to stay in the moment and not get ahead of ourselves with all the rain. It’s something where you wish you would keep playing and keep the momentum going, but the course is unplayable. So we’re happy to come in and regroup a little bit and get back out there and attack No. 5.”

Among those still on the course, Daniel Berger (through 16 holes) has moved to 5 under while Dustin Johnson and Scottie Scheffler are 4 under with a few holes left to play.

Young said around midday Friday that players would remain on property in case conditions improved, but it became apparent by mid-afternoon that the rain wouldn’t relent.

They’d be wise to rest up – the next 2 1/2 days could feature nonstop golf.