Justin Thomas and caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay on Friday at TPC Sawgrass.
Getty Photos
Brice Garnett could also be co-leading this Gamers Championship. However his tempo of play? Nicely …
Throughout Thursday’s first spherical, he hit two photographs — a tee shot down the left aspect of the golf green on 10, and a second shot to the perimeter — earlier than play was known as as a result of darkness. On Friday, he hit 45 photographs — his final was a tee shot on 5, additionally down the left aspect of the golf green — when the horn sounded due to storms. On Saturday, Garnett will play four-plus holes. Sooner or later. Possibly. Add that each one up, and that’s … over 40 hours to complete 18 holes at TPC Sawgrass. (After all, if he have been paying the general public payment of upward of $840, he’d at the least be getting his full cash’s value.)
Can the Gamers Championship be shortened? Or end on… Tuesday?! Your questions, answered
“We knew it was going to be a protracted day doubtlessly at present,” Garnett stated after the second a part of his first spherical. “We have been simply attempting to remain within the second and never get too forward of ourself with all of the rain. It’s one thing thrilling.”
It’s one thing, all proper. Garnett’s odyssey is one of some Gamers Championship irregularities brought on by a three-day storm over Ponte Vedra Seashore, Fla. How will Sawgrass play when golf resumes (hopefully) on Saturday? What’s going to the spherical appear to be? What kind of participant is greatest fitted to one of many extra uncommon Gamers Championships? Let’s have a look.
The unhealthy information for gamers
You by no means need to see a black exclamation level in an orange circle when checking the climate for golf, however there it was on climate.com, in the midst of the web page, after a seek for Ponte Vedra Seashore. And the message to the precise of it? “Gale warning.” In different phrases, it’s not going to be simply a tickle of wind on Saturday; will probably be a slap.
Whereas the worst of will probably be over when play does start (there are whispers of gusts of over 60 mph), it’ll nonetheless be sufficient to ship gamers’ golf balls — and hats and anything not firmly hooked up — each which approach. From 11 a.m. to five p.m, based on climate.com, the wind can be blowing at at least 20 mph. A break does come at 6 p.m. — a 19 mph wind.
Good luck hitting the island-green seventeenth.
The excellent news for gamers
It’s not all dire. As windy as will probably be, it should possible be as muddy on Saturday, and whereas it should soiled various sneakers and pants, it possible gained’t any gamers’ golf balls. As long as they’re within the fairway.
Through the first spherical, the popular lies rule — the lifting, cleansing and putting of a ball not within the tough or sand — was in impact, and will probably be for the second spherical and maybe past. The advantages? No misfires as a result of mud. A lie below the participant’s management.
On the Gamers, the climate is terrible. That doesn’t imply nothing’s occurring
“I’m not going to hit that golf ball with something on it if I can clear it,” Jon Rahm stated Thursday. “Yeah, each time I used to be within the fairway, chip photographs, something, that ball was lifted, cleaned and tried to search out the very best lie I may hit.”
The rain additionally opens up just a few different doorways. Embedded balls (as a result of mud) and momentary water will possible pop up extra ceaselessly, and gamers can have aid choices for each. Embeds are lined below rule 16.3, and momentary water is addressed below 16.1 — co-leader Tommy Fleetwood took full benefit of the latter on Thursday, when his second shot was jailed in a patch of timber, just for him to maneuver his ball to the precise as a result of a puddle, making a path for a shot.
“The factor is, the place he’s dropping, he’s really going to have a window up there to get him up by the inexperienced,” on-course analyst John Wooden stated on the Golf Channel broadcast. “If he needed to play it the place it was, he had completely nothing.”
However possibly one of the best a part of the storms? Softer greens. No extra scenes from final week, the place balls zipped by baked-out placing surfaces on the Arnold Palmer.
“It’s very receptive,” Kramer Hickok stated on Thursday’s Golf Channel broadcast. “Greens are actually tender. Fairways have executed a very nice job of drying out, so that you’re nonetheless getting some run out, so the course is definitely enjoying fairly quick. But it surely’s fairly simple to assault a few of these flags.
The uncertainty
Who’s Gold Man? Weird NBC/Golf Channel particular impact amuses, mystifies golf followers
Golf will nearly assuredly be performed Saturday, however as to when, chief referee Gary Younger may supply solely this:
“Our plan is to renew play tomorrow, no sooner than 11 a.m.,” he stated. “That will be the earliest. The principles committee will arrive early tomorrow morning. We’ll assess the climate scenario with Wade Stettner, our meteorologist, and at that time, we can have a greater concept of what’s taking place with this extreme climate system that we’re anticipating to return by the realm someday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. tomorrow. That’s the projected arrival.”
Briefly, it could possibly be 11. Or midday. Or 1 p.m. So the wait begins. After which the wait continues. The primary spherical will end. And people gamers — the unique Thursday afternoon wave — will flip round for the second spherical — they have been additionally the unique Friday morning wave. Sooner or later after that, the unique Friday afternoon wave — these professionals who did play on Thursday — will get out.
And that’s assuming gamers can have no issues with 20 mph-winds, mud balls, embedded balls and momentary water, to not point out one in all Pete Dye’s most Dyeabolical layouts.
“We’re simply battling, attempting to make up for misplaced time,” Younger stated. “We additionally know that the situations we’re going to be dealing with tomorrow with the winds which are predicted, the tempo of play goes to be slower as properly. So we’re attempting to issue all of this in our projections.”
So who has the benefit?
Persistence was already at a premium, however tack on presumably two additional days, and even Mom Teresa would crack. The winner can be somebody who doesn’t bend simple. The unique Thursday afternoon-Friday morning wave can have a protracted day, the Thursday morning-Friday afternoon teams can have a protracted wait.
One other trace at a possible champion? Whereas trying on the participant hitting the golf equipment, take a peek on the particular person carrying them. Contemplate this change between Wooden, a former caddie, and analyst Gary Koch on the Friday broadcast on Golf Channel.
“John, what was the toughest a part of being a caddie in these situations?” Koch requested.
“It was simply taking your time,” he stated. “Typically you get rushed with selections as a result of possibly you took a bit time with cleansing a grip or one thing like that. Everybody goes to play slower in these situations, you bought to appreciate that, and never let your participant get out of kinds and get out of his regular rhythm.”
“Did you would like you had greater than two arms?” Koch requested.
“Oh yeah. Three or 4 of them would have been nice.” Wooden stated.
