The PGA Tour had no choice but to delay the second round of the Shriners Children’s Open by four hours before play started. Not a single player within this 132-man field has yet to tee off on Friday.
Strong gale force winds, with gusts reaching 50 miles per hour, have wreaked havoc on the Las Vegas Valley early Friday. Therefore, the National Weather Service of Southern Nevada has instituted a wind advisory for all of Las Vegas until 11 p.m. local time on Friday evening. Sustained winds between 25 and 35 miles per hour out of the northwest will continue to blow across the region all day. Yet, the forecast calls for those powerful gusts to diminish as the day progresses.
“The Friday morning delay at the Shriners Children’s Open is due to extremely high winds we are experiencing in Las Vegas,” said Chief Referee Stephen Cox in a statement.
“For the safety of operational staff, tournament volunteers, spectators, and our athletes and caddies, we have extended the delay as we continue to monitor the situation.”
Eight players did not even finish their opening rounds on Thursday, as the tour suspended play due to darkness at 6:55 p.m. local time. Joe Highsmith, who has the lowest score of that bunch, faces a 25-footer for birdie on the par-5 9th, his final hole of the day, to post a 7-under 64.
Nine players shot a 64 on Thursday, all sitting in a tie for second, trailing Canadian Taylor Pendrith by three. Pendrith matched his career-low with a 10-under 61 on Thursday as he sits atop the leaderboard. Thursday’s first round also saw a fair amount of wind. Gusts reached 30 miles per hour during the afternoon.
But who knows if these strong winds on Friday will subside. Gusts of this magnitude not only move balls across the greens but make trees, power lines, and other tall objects susceptible to falling down. That’s obviously a safety hazard, which is why the PGA Tour made the call that they did.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
