PGA: The Barclays Will Be Decided After 54 Holes

EDISON, NJ - The PGA Tour has officially announced that The Barclays will be reduced to a 54-hole event due to Hurricane Irene.

Third-round tee times will begin at 7 am tomorrow with the leaders teeing off at around 9 am local time.

“With the extreme weather conditions that we have got staring us in the face right now, Sunday obviously is not going to be here,” PGA Tour Vice President of Rules and Competition Slugger White said.

“We are looking upwards to maybe ten to 12 inches of rain between Saturday night and Sunday evening, and that puts Monday in no way we can get out of here Monday and it puts Tuesday out, as well.”

The 2011 Barclays marks the first time a FedEx Cup Playoff event will be decided after 54 holes.

The last time a PGA Tour event was decided after just 54 holes was the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where Dustin Johnson was declared the winner after three rounds due to a significant amount of rain in the area on Sunday and Monday.

Although Irene is not scheduled to hit the New Jersey area until tomorrow evening, the forecast for earlier in the day is not great either.

Rain showers are expected to begin in the morning and develop into a steady rain by the afternoon.

If 54 holes cannot be completed tomorrow they will resort back to the 36-hole scores in order to declare a winner.

Last year's Barclays Champion Matt Kuchar is currently leading the tournament at 14-under par after posting a 65 in round two.

Due to capacity restrictions at Plainfield Country Club, only Saturday’s tickets will be honored tomorrow.  Sunday ticket holders will be given a “Good Any Day” ticket for the 2012 event at Bethpage Black in Long Island, New York.