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The Players Championship: Water, water everywhere sets up Monday finish

AP photo by Lynne Sladky / Golf fans watch Xander Schauffele putt on the ninth hole at TPC Sawgrass during a rainy first round at The Players Championship on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
AP photo by Lynne Sladky / Golf fans watch Xander Schauffele putt on the ninth hole at TPC Sawgrass during a rainy first round at The Players Championship on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. AP photo by Lynne Sladky / Golf fans watch Xander Schauffele putt on the ninth hole at TPC Sawgrass during a rainy first round at The Players Championship on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

By DOUG FERGUSON / The Associated Press 5 min read

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Players Championship delivered only four hours of golf Friday before rain saturated TPC Sawgrass, assuring the PGA Tour’s premier event will not end until Monday.

So much for Saturday being moving day on the leaderboard. Based on the forecast of overnight rain and raging wind, the tour said there was no chance of even making the cut until Sunday.

Play was stopped at 11:15 a.m. Friday. The conditions and the forecast were so bad the first round was not scheduled to resume until 11 a.m. Saturday, and that was described as a best-case scenario.

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

Puddles formed on the putting surfaces when play was stopped, and the rain kept coming. Young said the Stadium Course – the site was once a swamp before course architect Pete Dye worked his magic – had received some three inches of rain over a period of 36 to 48 hours.