PGA's rainy season continues with Bay Hill suspension
The first round is called after three hours, the sixth weather delay at a tour event this year.
By BOB HARIG
Published March 18, 2005
ORLANDO - If the PGA Tour is in town, there must be dark clouds, thunderstorms and rain somewhere nearby, if not directly over the golf course.
That was the case again Thursday at the Bay Hill Invitational, where heavy rains forced the first round to be suspended after three hours of golf was played. No player finished more than 13 holes.
It is the sixth PGA Tour event this year that has had a weather delay and the eighth time weather has impacted play in some way, including course conditions.
Joe Ogilvie, who lost in a playoff Sunday at the Honda Classic, and Spain's Sergio Garcia shared the lead at 3 under par. Ogilvie completed 13 holes and Garcia was through eight. Tiger Woods, K.J. Choi, Kenny Perry and Graeme McDowell were 2 under. Sixty players had not teed off.
"Fortunately for us, it looks like the weather is going to get much better throughout the weekend," Garcia said. "It's really wet and it's unfortunate, but you have to get through these things and just move on. You've got to be patient. (This) morning we're probably going to get a good amount of mud balls, and you've just got to deal with it the best you can."
The first round was scheduled to resume at 7:15 this morning with the hope of getting as much of the second round in as possible. The forecast at 7 calls for a temperature of 58 and a 10 percent chance of rain. The chance of rain drops to 0 percent by 2 p.m.
PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell said he did not expect the second round to be completed until Saturday morning, when the field will be cut to the low 70 and ties and repaired. Golfers will go off both tees in threesomes in order to try to complete the tournament on time Sunday afternoon.
"We made a major effort to try and play," Russell said. "We had to try. We have some pumps out there and pumped some area out ... but we just couldn't play golf under the rules. We had some very deep puddles and no place to take relief, and even if we were lifting the ball, I don't think we could have played golf properly under the rules."
Because the round Thursday did not begin with "lift, clean and place" rules in effect, the round must be completed that way, which would have made it difficult to resume at any point during the afternoon.
Poor weather has plagued the PGA Tour this year. The Mercedes Championship, Buick Invitational, FBR Open, Nissan Open and Match Play Championship had delays. There was so much rain at the Nissan Open that the tournament had to be shortened to 36 holes, the first time that has happened on the PGA Tour since 1996.
Thursday's single-day tickets will not be honored today.