PGA Tour Battered By 50mph Winds In Hawaii
Published: Last updated:
After Thursday, Friday and Saturday were battered by wind at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, play finally got underway on Sunday, only for it to be postponed again after only an hour.
High winds were again the cause, this time measuring at 48mph. The plan now is to play 36 holes from split tees on Monday and 18 on Tuesday to ensure the tournament is given official event status.
“Obviously we need the weather to cooperate,” said Andy Pazder, the Tour’s Chief of Operations. “It’s going to be borderline tomorrow. Our meteorologist is saying 25 to 30mph winds, which we can play in.”
The wind was so bad during the brief restart that Matt Kuchar saw his ball blown off his tee on the 10th hole and Ben Curtis watched as his blew off the green while he was preparing to putt.
According to 2012 WGC winner Ian Poulter, the players in the elite 30-man field are feeling very frustrated. He said: ““You can see now the sun is shining right now but we’re not on the golf course playing golf and that is difficult for the players to take. I think it is difficult for the officials to take, it is difficult for the fans to take and I’m sure it is difficult for the sponsors to take.
“We’re not on the golf course because of the wind. It has got nothing to do with anything else. They have slowed the greens down; they’ve tried to make it playable. Two days we have sat. We tried to get out on the golf course today, you saw the coverage, it just wasn’t possible.
“I think we’re all frustrated. We want to be out there playing. We want to make this an official event, nobody really wants to be here if it is unofficial. That’s why it is a bonus to be in this field, to put FedEx points on the board, put money on the board. So I think everybody is quite frustrated.”
The tournament is only considered official if 54 holes are played, with the winner getting an invitation into next year’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions. If only 36 holes are played, it would be an “unofficial” win with no Hyundai invitation, but money would be included in a golfer’s total. If only 18 holes are played, the $5.7 million purse is cut in half and money is unofficial.
