Torrential rain washed out most of the opening day of the Travelers Championship on Thursday. More than 2.5cm of rain was dumped on the course during morning thunderstorms.
Play was suspended before lunchtime and never resumed, forcing tournament organizers to reschedule the opening round for yesterday, when more foul weather is forecast.
“We got a little break and were ready to go, and then we got another 25 minutes or so of rain and we just lost the golf course,” USPGA Tour vice president of rules and competition Mark Russell said. “We went out there and the course was saturated, and there were some areas where we just couldn’t play golf. Instead of sending the players out there for maybe four holes, we decided it was better to have everyone in place and ready to go tomorrow morning, and we will play golf hopefully all day tomorrow.”
Only six players managed to complete their opening rounds, with Kris Blanks entering the clubhouse with the lowest score of two-under 68, but there were 21 players ahead of him still on the course, headed by Michael Bradley of the US, who was at six-under with two holes to play.
“The course is unplayable,” Bradley said. “There’s a lot of water on the course. It’s going to be a little wet [on Friday], but it’s two holes and I’m done.”
Bradley’s round featured seven birdies, including six in eight holes between the sixth and the 13th. His only blemish was a bogey at the par-four fourth.
“My iron play and putting was good. I hit a lot of good iron shots and I putted well,” Bradley said. “I didn’t drive it that well on the front nine, but I started driving it a little better on the back nine.”
Bradley is searching for his second USPGA title this season, following his victory at the Puerto Rico Open, the fourth of his career.
He ended the day one shot ahead of a group of seven players at four-under, including Fiji’s former world No. 1 Vijay Singh.
The defending champion, Bubba Watson of the US, was among dozens of players who did not even start their opening round.
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