The Barclays: Weather Wreaks Havoc on Day 1

EDISON, NJ - So the week began with an earthquake on Tuesday, and we are now less than three days from Hurricane Irene bringing the festivities to a complete halt at Plainfield Country Club.

The big question on everyone’s mind is, how in the world is the PGA Tour going to find a way to complete this tournament over the next four to five days?

Play was already suspended at 10:29 am this morning due to dangerous weather in the area, the forecast for Saturday is not great and Hurricane Irene is meant to strike sometime on Sunday, which will likely result in a complete wash out.

If Hurricane Irene is as bad as the meteorologists are predicting, the likelihood of any golf being played on Monday is also slim to none due to the damage the course will incur on Sunday.

There’s a lot of money on the line here – an $8 million purse this week with $1.44 million going to the winner, not to mention valuable FedEx Cup points that will go a long way towards someone securing a $10 million pay day in five weeks – so any decision on how to proceed this week will obviously be made with extreme care.

Playing 36 holes on Sunday or going into Monday is not an overly rare occurrence on the PGA Tour.  Even calling a tournament after 54 holes has happened on occasion.

However, the PGA Tour might be looking at an unprecedented situation this week in Edison, New Jersey.

There has been no announcement yet as to when play might resume today, and although the forecast for Friday looks good, there’s a 40% chance of rain on Saturday with heavy wind and rain expected for Sunday.

If round one is not completed today due to the weather conditions, it will likely leave the tour a day-and-a-half to try to complete at least 54 holes, which would seem like a fantasy at best.

The only saving grace is that next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship does not begin until Friday.  So, if necessary, completing this tournament on Tuesday may be a possibility.  Although based on the forecast, the tour might need every second of daylight on Tuesday just to get 54 holes into the books.  

These extreme weather conditions will not only affect the way the course plays but will also affect the way guys play the course.

Since this tournament is unlikely to go 72 holes, we can expect an all-out sprint to a shortened finish line once play does resume.

Whoever wants to win this tournament is going to have to go low right out of the gate. 

At 6,964 yards, Plainfield is not an overly long course, and the greens, although severely undulating in some locations, will be extremely soft and there for the taking.   

What this all boils down to is that during the rare occasions when players are actually out on the golf course, those who relentlessly hunt flag sticks will have a far better chance of winning this thing once the whistle is finally blown, whether that be Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.

Plainfield Country Club—a Donald Ross design—is a classic old course complete with a drivable par-four 18th which is bound to create some fireworks over the next few days.

So, once the sun finally does decide to peek its head out, we could be in for one gem of a golf tournament despite the fact that we might have to DVR the conclusion on Tuesday.