The Genesis Invitational starts this week on the PGA Tour, and there is extra spotlight on the tournament because Tiger Woods is involved. It was supposed to start early on Thursday, but it was delayed due to inclement weather. Rain came onto the scene at the Genesis, and the issue was not lightning but the greens being too wet, so they could not play through.
PGA Tour Rules Official Orlando Pope said that the biggest issue was the greens. “It's not a dangerous situation, but it is just too much water on the greens. We're losing greens left and right.” They were waiting for the incoming patch of rain to pass before reassessing the conditions and determining when they could play the course.
In the moments leading up to the suspension of play, maintenance crews were out on several greens, squeegeeing them to ensure they were fit for play.
According to the official TOUR forecast, published Thursday, “the heaviest rain is expected between 10 a.m. and noon (local). Winds will dramatically increase after noon and could gust to 34 mph at times. Temperatures in the 40s this morning will only reach the mid-50s by this afternoon. Total rainfall today is forecast to be around a half inch.”
When play at Riviera was suspended, Akshay Bhatia led the way at 3-under through six holes. It will be interesting to see if it affects the rest of the tournament and if it can finish on time on Sunday.
This week marks the 100th edition of what has been known as the Los Angeles Open, which has always been played in the early winter months since its inception in 1926. However, there has been speculation that the tournament could be moved to a different month. Tiger Woods also said that every single option is on the table, and it had already been moved after last year's fires.
“You’re not going to get weather like this,” Woods said Tuesday. “That’s number one. We’re going to have perfect days. It’s always perfect in SoCal here in August.
“So yes, we’re looking at things like that and looking to go to bigger markets later in the year for the playoffs and just trying to improve our competitive model. How do we do that? I think that is one of the options with Genesis. That is certainly on the table.”
