Rain halts US PGA Championship; third round to resume on Sunday

Lightning followed by steady, heavy rain Saturday forced officials to suspend the third round of play in the 98th PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club. A gloomy forecast for Sunday raised the possibility that the season’s final major might have to be extended to a fifth day.

Play was suspended at 2:14 p.m. because of lightning in the area. Of the 86 players who made the 36-hole cut and advanced to Saturday’s play, only 37 completed their rounds. Ten contestants, including co-leaders Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb, did not tee off and faced the possibility of going 36 holes Sunday.

Defending champion Jason Day, the world’s No 1-ranked player, and British Open winner Henrik Stenson also did not hit a single shot Saturday.

Sunday’s schedule was for players to resume competition at 7 a.m. and for the final round to commence at 8:40 a.m. with the same pairings as round three. Under this plan, with nine-minute intervals between start times, the final twosome would go off around 3:25 p.m.

However, the forecast ranged from a 50 per cent to 90 per cent chance of thunderstorms in the 12-hour period between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., raising the distinct possibility of a Monday finish. The rain will be added to what fell Saturday afternoon and what was anticipated to fall in the overnight hours leading into Sunday morning. Many of the greens and bunkers resembled lakes early Saturday evening.

The foul weather Saturday raised questions of why the PGA of America did not elect to start from the first and the 10th tees with three players to a group to ensure a finish that could have headed off the rain, instead of in pairs off the No. 1 tee alone.