The PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship is expected to begin on Friday, August 9th.
Tropical Storm Debby forced officials to initially delay and ultimately postpone Thursday’s match, with weather experts predicting that 4 to 6 inches of rain could fall at Sedgefield Country Club.
The tour announced Wednesday afternoon that fans would not be allowed at stadiums on Thursday because of the dangerous weather, and its update said matches would continue as long as the weather permitted.
But there was a 90 percent chance of rain Thursday, with wind speeds of 15 to 20 mph and gusts of more than 35 mph.
With heavy rain predicted for Thursday, why did the PGA Tour ban fans from attending? Why didn’t they postpone the round at that point?
It’s true that the weather is always changing, and tropical storms change course.
But this time it was different. Debbie suddenly appeared, forcing the PGA Tour to release a statement at 5 a.m. Thursday morning.
“The first round of the Wyndham Championship has been postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby. The first tee time will be no later than Thursday at 3:00 p.m. ET,” the PGA Tour announced. Posted by Communications Team Thursday at 5am at X.
The first round of the Wyndham Championship has been postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby, with the first tee time not scheduled to be before 3pm ET on Thursday.
— PGA Tour Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 8, 2024
Six hours later, they announced that they were postponing the first round again, saying that “the start time of the first round will be updated,” but did not specify the time.
Their article on the delays reads: All these updates includedsaid it would decide its next move at 6 p.m. ET.
The first round of the Wyndham Championship has been postponed to Friday, August 9th due to the effects of Tropical Storm Debby. An updated start time for the first round will be provided.
— PGA Tour Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 8, 2024
These two statements are odd for a number of reasons.
First, they refused to allow fans in because they knew a storm was coming, so why not allow them on the golf course? Player safety is also important.
Secondly, it was clear at 5 a.m. this morning that the rain would continue, but PGA Tour officials decided to wait until 11 a.m. to make a final decision. This situation is just the latest example of them not taking the weather into consideration and causing delays.
Of course, it’s nearly impossible to control nature or predict what will happen, but why would professional athletes play if the conditions are too dangerous for fans to be there?
Tropical Storm Debby wasn’t a surprise — it pounded Georgia and Florida last weekend with flooding rains — and tour officials should have been better prepared for the weather.
There’s also an 80 percent chance of rain on Friday, so conditions could mean the tournament doesn’t even start.
Will there be enough time for the PGA Tour to complete 72 holes by Sunday or even Monday?
How will this affect the FedEx Cup race? Many players are relying on this week’s tournament to secure a spot in the top 70, but now it’s postponed. What happens if they can’t compete in this tournament at all? Could the top 70 slot be expanded to allow players closer to that line to compete at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis?
Stay tuned for news on the PGA Tour’s final tournament of the regular season.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
