Thursday, February 26, 2004
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Golf: Rain washes out play at WGC Match Play Championship
Related News »
• Golf: Rain washes out second round at World Match-Play event
• Golf: Woods survives scare at Match Play Championship
• Golf: Tiger wary of potential Match-Play upsets
CARLSBAD, California : Southern California failed to live up to its sunny reputation as overnight rain left the La Costa course unplayable and forced officials to postpone the second round of the seven million-dollar Match Play Championship.
Nearly two inches of rain left the course under water in many places, and after several delays the 16 scheduled matches were put back until Friday morning.
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Officials still hoped to complete the third round by sundown on Friday, getting the World Golf Championships event back on track.
"We have places where you can't get from the fairway to the green (because of flooding)," senior rules director Mike Shea said. "Throughout the whole course, the fairways are just saturated."
Shea said the worst part of the course was probably the 14th hole, where the fairway had turned into a river.
David Toms, the runner-up to Tiger Woods last year, was philosophical about the delay. "We don't play in a dome," he said. "Guys are starting to understand that the money we play for, everything is not going to be perfect."
In Wednesday's first round, 11 of the top 12 seeds won, including the top-ranked Woods, who eked out a narrow 1-up victory over John Rollins.
That bracket also features Denmark's Thomas Bjorn against Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson and Ireland's Padraig Harrington against American Bob Estes.
Fiji's Vijay Singh will meet American Jerry Kelly in the Gary Player bracket while Davis Love faces fellow American Fred Couples in the Sam Snead bracket. Canada's Mike Weir plays Australian Stephan Leaney in the Ben Hogan bracket.
Golf: Rain washes out play at WGC Match Play Championship
Related News »
• Golf: Rain washes out second round at World Match-Play event
• Golf: Woods survives scare at Match Play Championship
• Golf: Tiger wary of potential Match-Play upsets
CARLSBAD, California : Southern California failed to live up to its sunny reputation as overnight rain left the La Costa course unplayable and forced officials to postpone the second round of the seven million-dollar Match Play Championship.
Nearly two inches of rain left the course under water in many places, and after several delays the 16 scheduled matches were put back until Friday morning.
Advertisement
Officials still hoped to complete the third round by sundown on Friday, getting the World Golf Championships event back on track.
"We have places where you can't get from the fairway to the green (because of flooding)," senior rules director Mike Shea said. "Throughout the whole course, the fairways are just saturated."
Shea said the worst part of the course was probably the 14th hole, where the fairway had turned into a river.
David Toms, the runner-up to Tiger Woods last year, was philosophical about the delay. "We don't play in a dome," he said. "Guys are starting to understand that the money we play for, everything is not going to be perfect."
In Wednesday's first round, 11 of the top 12 seeds won, including the top-ranked Woods, who eked out a narrow 1-up victory over John Rollins.
That bracket also features Denmark's Thomas Bjorn against Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson and Ireland's Padraig Harrington against American Bob Estes.
Fiji's Vijay Singh will meet American Jerry Kelly in the Gary Player bracket while Davis Love faces fellow American Fred Couples in the Sam Snead bracket. Canada's Mike Weir plays Australian Stephan Leaney in the Ben Hogan bracket.
