PGA champions can’t compete with nature
THE 2013 PGA Tour got off to a false start yesterday when firstround play at the seasonopening Tournament of Champions in Hawaii was abandoned because of strong winds.
Following an earlier suspension in play due to adverse conditions at the Kapalua Resort, the golfers were summoned off the course as winds gusted up to 72.4kmh and balls oscillated on the exposed green at the par-three second.
With no realistic hope of a resumption, PGA Tour rules official Slugger White announced the interrupted first round would be washed out and that the players would try to complete 36 holes today with a two-tee start.
‘‘We started in almost unplayable conditions and it just got worse,’’ he said. ‘‘We tried to play and mother nature just wouldn’t help us. We have decided to scrub this round, wash it out completely. No shots count.
‘‘We are going to start the first round tomorrow morning. I can honestly say the forecast isn’t real good but maybe we’ll get lucky. That’s the hope.’’
US Open champion Webb Simpson had been the early leader in yesterday’s aborted round, moving to three under par after just seven holes in the elite, winners-only event on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Swede Jonas Blixt was at one under after five holes, a stroke in front of compatriot Carl Pettersson (after one hole) and Americans Kyle Stanley (four), Ryan Moore (three), Johnson Wagner (two) and Scott Piercy (one).
‘‘It stinks for me,’’ American Simpson said of the abandoned round. ‘‘I got off to a great start but that’s the way it goes. I’m sure they made the decision that’s best for all the guys.
‘‘But the good news is, I had a good start and I’m playing well. I was able to make a couple of putts and that’s what you have to do on a day like today.’’