SAN DIEGO: Tiger Woods’ bid for a 75th PGA Tour victory was put on hold for 24 hours when thick fog allowed only five minutes of play in the Farmers Insurance Open third round, forcing the event into a Monday finish.
Initial tee times were pushed back three hours before play eventually started at Torrey Pines but the action was halted just five minutes later as visibility swiftly deteriorated.
With the sun briefly breaking through, officials prepared for a re-start at 12:20 pm local (2020 GMT) but those plans were swiftly abandoned as another blanket of fog rolled across the coastal venue.
“We basically lost the whole day today, so we’ll be back here in position at 7:00 (1500 GMT) in the morning,” Mark Russell, the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules and competition, told reporters.
“We’re going to play golf all day until dark and then when it gets dark, we’ll suspend play. We’ll come back Monday morning and finish the championship if the weather cooperates. That is the plan.
“Usually with over 78 players (left after the second round) we make a cut after the third round, but we’re not going to make a cut. We’re not going to re-pair. We’d lose too much time.”
Asked what time he expected the tournament to finish on Monday if the weather cooperated over the next two days, Russell replied: “Ballpark, we’re going to have anywhere from 12 to nine holes Monday, something like that.” Reuters
