It’s been four years since Sergio Garcia’s last PGA Tour victory. He’ll have to wait one more day before he can try to finish this one off.
And a downpour at the Wyndham Championship meant another day of uncertainty for others on the playoff bubble.
Garcia had the lead at 15-under-par through four holes on Sunday when the final round in the Tour’s last event before the FedEx Cup playoffs was suspended for the day because of heavy rain.
Tim Clark, Jason Dufner and Bud Cauley were at 14-under through varying stages of their rounds, and 38 players – half the field – were still on the course when play was stopped.
Of the Australians, Rod Pampling was the best-placed in the clubhouse after completing his final round with a 68 to finish on 272 – eight under-par – with Nick O’Hern shooting a 69 for a total of 275.
After waiting almost two-and-a-half hours, officials decided to bring them back to Sedgefield Country Club at 9am (local time) on Monday to crown a champion and figure out who qualifies for the playoffs.
Tour officials said more than five centimetres of rain fell on the course since Saturday night and Mark Russell, the Tour’s vice president of rules and competition, said the 15th hole became “unplayable”.
“It started raining and just wouldn’t stop,” Russell said. “We got to a point where we knew we couldn’t finish … so we made a decision that we would let it drain tonight, come back in the morning and be in position to resume play at 9 o’clock.”
Clark, who started the day a stroke behind Garcia after letting a few birdie chances get away late in round three, birdied two of his first four holes to match Garcia at 15-under. A bogey on the par-five fifth – the most frequently-eagled hole on the course – dropped him back a stroke, and he was on the fairway on No.6 when the rain delay came.
“Obviously, we’d all like to continue playing,” Clark said. “You get into a rhythm out there, and you’d like to keep going. But it’s going to be the same for all of us. It’s just a tough situation.”
Garcia began the day at 14-under and had three pars sandwiched around a birdie on the par-three third. He was preparing for a 40-yard chip when play stopped.
Garcia, who hasn’t won on Tour since the 2008 Players Championship, also wants a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. The 10 automatic qualifiers will be set following the Johnny Walker Invitational.
While Garcia continued his chase for that spot, other players were trying to secure a spot in the playoffs that begin later this week. The top 125 on the points list qualify for The Barclays at Bethpage Black.