Weather threatens Players Championship
The Players Championship, golf’s richest event, today became the latest US Tour event to be hit by bad weather.
After a glorious opening day’s play in which former US Open champion Steve Jones took star billing with an eight-under-par 64, the second round was delayed for an hour because of thunderstorms and then suspended again just 44 minutes later.
And this time the hold-up lasted more than two hours and looked likely to extend much further.
The forecast for the weekend was even worse, raising the possibility of the sport’s unofficial fifth major going into Monday – or even further.
It was only last month that the Nissan Open in Los Angeles became the first US Tour event for nine years to be reduced to 36 holes, Adam Scott eventually beating Chad Campbell in a one-hole play-off held on Monday morning just so that a winner could be declared.
Only 30 of the 144-strong field had managed to tee off again this morning and the leaderboard remained unaltered.
Jones, at 743rd the lowest-ranked player taking part after more than a year out following elbow surgery, was one ahead of Lee Westwood, Fred Funk and Zach Johnson.
Vijay Singh and Ernie Els were among those who did get into their second rounds, but were still on the first hole when the sirens sounded. They were five under and one under respectively.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both two under, were among the later starters, as were Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington, six under and five under respectively yesterday.
