Pebble Beach, Calif. – Whether Wyndham Clark is truly the winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am or he will have to play 18 more holes to make it fall on Mother Nature's shoulders.
Doubts remain about holding the final round of the tournament due to the strong winds and rain expected on Sunday.
PGA Tour chief umpire Gary Young said he was “optimistic” the tournament would be able to complete 72 holes, but there was a possibility that Clarke, who shot a course-record 60 on Saturday to build a one-stroke lead after 54 holes, could be declared the winner. One decision has already been made: out of an abundance of caution, no spectators will be allowed in the final round if it is held on Sunday. (If the final round is postponed to Monday, spectators will be admitted.)
“Our regulations state that we need to make every effort to play 72 holes, including playing on Monday,” Young said. “We wouldn't start playing on Monday if we knew we wouldn't be able to finish the round on Monday. So, the time limit would mean we would have to start playing on Monday by 10:15am at the latest to complete play.
Young said his staff will be on site at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday at 5 a.m. local time, assessing the situation and sending messages to players at 5:15 to provide an update on the status of the tournament and let them know whether it will go ahead. To be a delay in tee times. The final round is scheduled to begin at 7:45 a.m., and Young noted that if there is a delay, it will likely be a significant one and that the next update will be at 9:30 a.m.
“This means realistically that we will not start until noon tomorrow,” he said.
If so, it would be for a good reason.
Pebble Pro-Am: Sunday tee times
“We were expecting really high winds, and they haven't let up at all. (Our meteorologist is talking) about 60 (miles per hour) wind gusts and even above that range, so sustained winds of 35 to 40 miles per hour,” Young said. in the morning, indicating that rain of between one and three inches is also expected.
When asked about the chances of completing the 72 holes, Young said: “I'm optimistic right now. I mean we were playing on a very wet golf course. Obviously if we get more than two to three inches on the top side right now, it makes it more A little doubtful.
Saturday's weather forecast for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Favorite Lies is in effect for round three. pic.twitter.com/BLF8ShNOkx
– PGA Tour Communications (@PGATOURComms) February 3, 2024
Monday is expected to see rain in the morning as well. The course is already waterlogged from a combination of intermittent rain throughout the week.
“We just want to make sure that on Monday, if we get to that point, the golf course makes us have a good tournament, and that the conditions are up to professional standards,” Young said. “We want to make sure the golf course is of such quality on Monday that we don't want golf balls disappearing in the fairways and golf balls being lost.”
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am required a Monday finish last year; This will be the third Monday finish in the past six years, the other being 2019. AT&T was shortened to 54 holes in 2009; The last time the Tour event was shortened to 54 holes was at the 2016 Zurich Classic in New Orleans.
There is also a scenario where play could extend into Tuesday.
“Our regulations say we can't start playing on a Monday without knowing we can finish playing on Monday. If we do that and then the weather hits for some reason causing us to be delayed again, and if more than half the field has finished playing, we will extend play until “On Tuesday.” “But we need more than half of them to complete their tour on Monday.”
