The start of the PGA Tour's regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship, at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been postponed until Friday due to Tropical Storm Debby.
At the moment, the tournament is planning on staging the final two rounds on Sunday, forcing competitors to play 36 holes. Depending on how the weather develops, the tournament could stretch into Monday or (gulp) even Tuesday.
The tropical storm moved into the Greensboro area on Thursday, as Round 1 was set to get underway. The tournament organizers initially planned on starting play later in the afternoon — without fans — but later decided to raincheck the opening round.
“This decision was a difficult one for us to make with our partners at the PGA TOUR, but everyone’s safety is our top priority,” said Tournament Director Bobby Powell. “The most-recent forecast looks like the storm could clear our area sometime Friday.”
Heavy rains (4 to 6 inches) and strong gusts (up to 40 mph, per the PGA Tour's site) are expected throughout the day. Flash flooding warnings are in effect. Debby made landfall on U.S. shores as a Category 1 hurricane on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday.
“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Weather Service wrote in an alert sent to folks in the region. “Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”
The Wyndham carries hefty stakes, up and down the 156-person field. Players in the top-70 (71 this year, because of Grayson Murray's passing) in the FedExCup standings after the Wyndham will qualify for the playoffs, which begin next Thursday, August 14, with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis.
The top 50 in the points standings after the St. Jude will progress to the BMW Championship in Denver. The top 30 after that event will compete in the TOUR Championship, at East Lake in Atlanta (Aug. 29-Sept. 1).
Qualification for the BMW also assures players PGA Tour membership cards through 2025 and automatic eligibility for the eight Signature Events. This is particularly important for somebody like Jordan Spieth; currently 63rd in the standings and secured for Memphis, but not Denver. Spieth's facing offseason wrist surgery, and both he and the PGA Tour would surely like him locked into next year's biggest events.
“There's going to be a tournament to win and that will be a focus,” Spieth said at his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday at Sedgefield CC. “But you almost get to have double the excitement on some of the things, guys making the Playoffs, guys kind of getting in the top 125 or making a big push to where they can get their jobs back through the rest of the fall.
“There's a lot at stake here and I think this event will just continue to get better and better, which is good because it deserves to be.”
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