ST. LOUIS — Only four players got on the golf course Tuesday at Bellerive Country Club as the first weather delay disrupted the 100th playing of the PGA Championship.
Play was suspended and players and spectators were told to seek shelter as a string of thunderstorms starting hitting the area just past 7 a.m. CT. Lightning lit up the skies, thunder cracked the silence and a deluge of rain left rivers, ponds and small lakes on the already soft golf course.
The putting surfaces are already the talk of the tournament as they are on the rough side and extremely soft, so they didn’t need the water.
A sign in the players’ locker room has already warned the players what to expect: “Due to the expected high temperatures and high humidity over the next couple of days, greens speeds will remain slower than they are planned for Championship Rounds.”
If more foul weather moves through the area — and chances are it will the rest of Tuesday and into Wednesday — another challenge could pop up when play begins Thursday. The fairways are pure but soft, which likely will deliver mud balls.
With the course expected to be extremely soft, at least for the first two rounds, players will attack and low scoring should be had.
Notice in locker room at PGA. Not sure how fast they can make them. Have been told there is no root structure under the greens.