2024 Wyndham Championship's round 1 postponed to Friday due to Tropical Storm Debby
The Wyndham Championship is the final tournament of the PGA Tour regular season, but it's not going to begin on time. The weather forecast showed a high chance of severe weather, with Tropical Storm Debby bearing down on the East Coast, and that is exactly what has transpired.
The Wyndham is played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. That makes it well within range of the storm, and the tournament has been impacted as a result. Round one will instead begin on Friday, August 9.
PGA Tour communications said:
"The first round of the Wyndham Championship is postponed to Friday, August 9, due to Tropical Storm Debby. Updated first-round starting times will follow."
It is currently unclear what the plan is for the other rounds since they will inevitably not be able to start on time. Round one will take the schedule for round two (though possibly not at the same exact times). This will push round two into round three and so on.
There are two primary options for the PGA Tour. They can either extend the tournament into Monday and have the final round played then, or they can shorten it to 54 holes. The 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am was shortened to three rounds due to the weather.
The former option is difficult because those in contention during the fourth round will possibly be playing in the FedEx St. Jude Championship next week and would have one less day to prepare and recover.
Tournament director speaks on Wyndham Championship delays
Golf is an outdoor sport, which means it is at the mercy of the elements. Many tournaments earlier in the season experienced rain and wind delays. The Wyndham Championship has now experienced the same fate.
Tournament Director Bobby Powell said via Golf Monthly:
“This decision was a difficult one for us to make with our partners at the PGA Tour, but everyone’s safety is our top priority. The most recent forecast looks like the storm could clear our area sometime Friday.”
The National Weather Service called it dangerous and life-threatening, so the Championship had no choice but to treat the storm with the utmost caution. That meant delaying and then postponing the first round.