Rory McIlroy has golfed in driving rain and umbrella-snapping winds, but Wednesday marked the first time the Northern Irishman ever had a tournament round postponed because of a snowstorm.
Snow halted the opening round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship before McIlroy and Tiger Woods could tee off and before any matchup was completed.
Play was suspended in the late morning and by the time play was called for the day, about four centimetres (1.6 inches) had accumulated on the ground.
"I have never seen anything like that at a golf tournament," said the top-seeded McIlroy. "I've seen snow on the course when I was a kid, but nothing like that on any of the tours. It was crazy."
Mark Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, remembered seeing snow at a PGA Tour event in nearby Tucson, Arizona during the late 1990s before this tournament became part of the World Golf Championships.
"We got this freak snow storm," Russell said. "It was predicted, though. We just couldn't play."
Play was set to resume on Thursday with Spain's Sergio Garcia the nearest to victory, leading Thongchai Jaidee 2-up and looking at a 12-foot birdie putt at the 15th hole, while the Thai player is 96 feet from the cup.
Only 10 of the 64 first-round matches had not teed off when the snowstorm struck at the Dove Mountain course, but those matches included World No. 1 McIlroy going against Irishman Shane Lowry.
Australia's Jason Day, who would be enjoying warm summer temperatures if he were back home in Brisbane, said this was a first for him.
"This is crazy. I never played golf where you had to stop because of snow," Day said.
Officials said the second-round matches will also start on Thursday, and completed Friday. The third-round matches will follow on Friday, and if those two rounds are completed at the time, the tournament will be back on schedule.
Organizers were optimistic about their 8:30 am (15:30 GMT) start time Thursday.
There was still snow on the course as the sun was setting Wednesday and cool temperatures were expected to keep it there overnight. Weather forecasters were also predicting a second storm to hit the area.
Woods, who was set to open against US compatriot and friend Charlie Howell, and England's Luke Donald, a top seed set to face Marcel Siem of Germany, also were awaiting their starts when the storm struck to stop play for the day.
Garcia, playing in the bracket whose top seed is South African Louis Oosthuizen, has never trailed against Thongchai, who stumbled with a bogey at the par-five second and another at the 15th to fall two-down.
American Matt Kuchar, who could face Garcia in round two, was three-up on Hiroyuki Fujita after 14 holes, having won three holes in a row starting at the ninth to seize command.
That bracket also saw England's Justin Rose two-up on South Korean KJ Choi after nine holes, helping by a 54-foot birdie putt to win the opening holes that launched him to four-up through five holes before Choi rallied.
England's Ian Poulter was three-up through 12 on Scotsman Stephen Gallacher and Day was six-up after 10 on American Zach Johnson.
Defending champion Hunter Mahan was four-up on Italy's Matteo Manassero after nine holes, never trailing after the European found the desert right off the first tee and struggled from there.
AFP
Thu Feb 21 2013
8,500 premis diberi amaran susulan pelaksanaan Akta 852 - Dzulkefly
Sejumlah 8,500 premis di seluruh negara diberi amaran kerana melanggar Akta Kawalan Produk Merokok Demi Kesihatan Awam 2024 (Akta 852) yang berkuat kuasa pada 1 Okt lepas.
JDT raih kejuaraan berganda, julang Piala Futsal Malaysia 2024
Skuad futsal Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) meraih kejuaraan berganda musim ini apabila muncul juara Piala Futsal Malaysia 2024 selepas menewaskan Selangor 3-2.
AWANI Ringkas: 21 warga Bangladesh ditahan cuba masuk Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Teo Nie Ching dipilih Pengerusi DAP Johor
Ketua Wanita DAP Teo Nie Ching dipilih sebagai Pengerusi DAP Johor bagi penggal 2024/2027 menggantikan Liew Chin Tong yang menyandang jawatan itu sejak 2014.
AWANI 7:45 [06/10/2024] – Tuduhan palsu | Krisis kemanusiaan semakin parah | Tindakan akibat tekanan anak di Gaza | Misi lawatan PM di Pakistan
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas #AWANI745 bersama Dzulfitri Yusof dibawakan oleh #Maxis5G
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Tiada perbincangan ubah Islam agama rasmi, kata PM
- Setahun genosid di Gaza, yang mati lebih baik, kerana hidup terus merana
- Wanita Palestin mohon maaf kepada rakyat Malaysia
- Wartawan Malaysia tempuh detik cemas terkepung di Islamabad
Tumpuan #AWANI745 malam ini:
- Tiada perbincangan ubah Islam agama rasmi, kata PM
- Setahun genosid di Gaza, yang mati lebih baik, kerana hidup terus merana
- Wanita Palestin mohon maaf kepada rakyat Malaysia
- Wartawan Malaysia tempuh detik cemas terkepung di Islamabad
PRESMA cadang ‘kedai mamak’ tidak lagi jual rokok
Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (PRESMA) mengesyorkan semua premis makanan naungannya agar tidak lagi menjual rokok di premis mereka.
DAP tidak pernah cadang Kerajaan Perpaduan, selesa sebagai pengimbang di Johor - Loke
DAP tidak pernah mencadangkan agar Kerajaan Perpaduan ditubuhkan di Johor, sebaliknya parti itu selesa memainkan peranan sebagai pengimbang di negeri itu.
AWANI Global: konflik Asia Barat: Perang Israel-Hezbollah
Israel semakin 'menggila' memperluaskan tujuan perangnya menyerang sempadan negara berdaulat yang bersekutu dengan Hamas. Sejauh mana keangkuhan Israel membuka mata dan merubah pandangan dunia terhadap kekejaman peristiwa di Palestin pada 7 Oktober tahun lalu?
AWANI Ringkas: Kelapa diletak di bawah Lembaga Koko Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Kejadian tembak di Selama, polis tahan pemilik kebun
Polis menahan seorang lelaki tempatan kerana disyaki terlibat kes tembakan sehingga menyebabkan seorang individu cedera di Kampung Sumpit Beras, Rantau Panjang dekat Selama Jumaat lepas.
Trump selamat cubaan bunuh di Florida
Pegawai penguat kuasa undang-undang menyatakan, penembak bersembunyi di kawasan semak berhampiran sempadan padang golf.
SUKMA 2024: Wakil Sarawak Anson, Mirabel juara kejohanan golf
Anson Yeo Boon Xiang dan Mirabel Ting masing-masing dinobatkan juara bagi kategori lelaki dan wanita pada kejohanan golf SUKMA 2024.
Penampilan terbaik Gavin di Olimpik Paris 2024
Pemain berusia 30 tahun itu berkongsi kedudukan dengan Fabrizio Zanotti dari Paraguay.
MGA umum Pasukan Elit Program Pembangunan Remaja 2024/2025
Senarai tahun ini menampilkan 25 pemain berbakat besar berumur 13 hingga 18 tahun yang telah menunjukkan kemahiran luar biasa.
Jing Xuen ketuai cabaran negara di Piala QSC 2024
Ng Jing Xuen mengetuai cabaran negara di Piala Queen Sirikit (QSC) 2024, bersama dua pemain lain di Christchurch, New Zealand Mac depan.
Tiger Woods gemparkan dunia golf
Tiger Woods menarik diri selepas dia melakukan teed off di lubang ketujuh dengan penonton menyaksikan dia diiringi dari padang dengan kereta golf.
Pahang tubuh Akademi Golf Pahang Barat
Akademi itu yang dikelolakan MSP akan 'bertapak' di Padang Golf Raub, yang sedang dibaik pulih sebelum dibuka kepada umum tidak lama lagi.
Gavin, Khavish hanya ketinggalan dua pukulan di belakang pendahulu bersama Veer, Jazz
Pemain India, Veer Ahlawat dan Jazz Janewattananod dari Thailand muncul pendahulu bersama selepas melakarkan catatan sembilan bawah par 62.
Ervin berazam lakukan yang terbaik pada golf Terbuka Malaysia
Secara mental, Ervin sudah bersedia memberi saingan sengit kepada pemain-pemain golf negara lain pada Kejohanan Golf Terbuka Malaysia.
Jelajah Toyota 2023 perkukuh kesungguhan bangunkan sukan golf Malaysia
Jelajah Toyota di landasan tepat sebagai medan ujian pemain golf profesional negara juga pentas mencungkil bakat-bakat baharu.