Tommy Fleetwood will begin his delayed second round of the Players Championship on Saturday, hoping to maintain his lead at the top of the leaderboard following another round of chaos at Sawgrass.
When play was delayed on Friday, barely four hours of action had been allowed before officials called a halt owing to “unplayable course conditions.” Englishmen Fleetwood and Tom Hoge had held the clubhouse lead.
With additional poor weather anticipated for Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, play was eventually permitted to continue at noon local time (1700 GMT), and 47 competitors finished their first rounds shortly after 2pm — 55 hours and 16 minutes after the original start.
That's a wrap (finally) on the first round.
T1. @TommyFleetwood -6
T1. @HogeGolf -6LEADERBOARD » https://t.co/1m9wGRMAU9 pic.twitter.com/iJJLxbgYOe
— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERSChamp) March 12, 2022
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the 2019 champion, resumed his delayed first round on the par-five 16th and battled the wind to shoot a one-over 73.
Along with Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele, Open champion Collin Morikawa was one of several players to knock a tee shot into the sea on the par-three 17th, which has an island green.
Meanwhile, Andrew Putnam made a triple-bogey six after three-putting from five feet — and then took seven on the final hole.
When play was suspended on Friday, Brice Garnett was tied for the lead with Fleetwood and Hoge at six under par after 13 holes.
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1502695559894872067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1502695559894872067%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Ftommy-fleetwood-looking-keep-pace-210346550.html
The American tied for fifth place with Kramer Hickok, Joaquin Niemann, Keith Mitchell, and Anirban Lahiri at five under par.
Nine of the 12 groups on each side (18/24 total) in the afternoon wave are scheduled to begin the second round today.
TOUR officials have informed the last three groups on each side that they will not begin the second round until Sunday. https://t.co/9nrKTsZVYk
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 12, 2022
Fleetwood, who shot 66 on Thursday, will tee off his second round shortly after 5 p.m. local time (2211 GMT) on Saturday, while fellow Englishman Paul Casey, who is just four strokes off the first-round lead, will also try to stay in contention.
Kevin Kisner of the United States was one among the early second-round movers on Saturday. He made two birdies on the back nine before dropping a stroke on the par-four 18th to go into the turn at five under.
Following all of the severe weather disruptions, golf’s wealthiest event seems set to be prolonged into a fifth — and potentially even a sixth – day.
The PGA Tour confirmed that nine of the 12 groups in each afternoon wave would start the second round on Saturday.
However, the final three groups on each side – including Ireland’s Shane Lowry and England’s Ian Poulter – have been told that the second round would not begin until Sunday.
