Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images
The Wyndham Championship will not begin until Friday as the PGA Tour failed to plan for Tropical Storm Debby’s arrival.
The PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship will likely begin on Friday, August 9.
Tropical Storm Debby forced officials to initially delay and finally postpone play on Thursday. Weather experts predicted rainfall could reach 4-6 inches at Sedgefield Country Club.
The Tour announced Wednesday afternoon that fans would not be allowed on the property on Thursday due to dangerous weather conditions. That update said that play would continue as long as conditions allowed.
However, there was a 90% chance of rain for Thursday with winds of 15 to 20 mph with gusts upwards of 35 mph.
With so much rain expected for Thursday, why did the PGA Tour only prevent fans from coming to the event? Why would they not postpone the round at that moment?
Sure, weather changes all the time—tropical storms do change paths.
Not this time, though — Debby came barreling in and forced the PGA Tour to issue a statement at 5 a.m. on Thursday.
“The first round of the Wyndham Championship is delayed due to Tropical Storm Debby. The first tee time will not be before 3 p.m. ET Thursday,” the PGA Tour communications team posted on X at 5 a.m. Thursday morning.
The first round of the Wyndham Championship is delayed due to Tropical Storm Debby. The first tee time will not be before 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 8, 2024
Six hours later, they updated the public again to postpone the first round, stating, “Updated first-round starting times will follow.” They did not give a time, though.
Their article about the delay, which included all of these updates, stated that they would decide their next move at 6 p.m. ET.
The first round of the Wyndham Championship is postponed to Friday, August 9, due to Tropical Storm Debby. Updated first-round starting times will follow.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 8, 2024
These two statements are odd for a few reasons.
The first is that they refused to allow fans on the property because they knew the storm was on its way. Why did they not include the golf? The player’s safety is important too.
Secondly, at 5 a.m. this morning, it was evident that the rain was here to stay, but the PGA Tour officials chose to wait until 11 a.m. to make a final decision. This situation is just the latest instance in which they did not consider the weather, and it caused some delay.
Of course, it is nearly impossible to control nature or predict what will happen, but if the conditions are too dangerous for fans to be there, why would professional athletes play?
Tropical Storm Debby was not a surprise. It came across Georgia and Florida last weekend with flood-like rains. Tour officials could have prepped better for the weather.
There is also an 80% chance of rain on Friday, so depending on how that pans out, the tournament may not start then.
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 rely on this week to help secure a spot inside that Top 70, and now there is a delay. What happens if they cannot play the event at all? Will they extend the Top 70 to a larger number so players close to that line can tee it up at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis?
Stay tuned for more news on the regular season finale for the PGA Tour.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
