FROST HAS DELAYED the start of the 105th US PGA Championship, the year’s second major, at Oak Hill in Rochester.
Play had been scheduled to get under way at 7am local time (12pm Irish time), but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.
Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: “Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.
“To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.
“Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open.”
The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year’s venue.
Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America’s chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: “Wherever the championship is (in May) appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we’re used to having when we played in August.
“There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully it won’t. But if it does, we’ll adapt.
“We’ve got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That’s sort of the fun of golf. It’s an outdoor game and we can’t wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well.”
Practice facilities open at 7:35am EDT; Practice putting green opens at 7:45am EDT; 1st tee time (#1 tee) will be at 8:50am EDT; 1st tee time (10th tee) will be at 8:55am EDT. Round 1 Starting Times are delayed by 1hr 50min total.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2023
Rory McIlroy (1.11pm) Padraig Harrington (1.17pm) and Shane Lowry (1.22pm) were all due to be among the early tee-offs, with Seamus Power getting up and running later today. However, the most recent update from the PGA indicates that McIlroy, Lowry and Harrington will all be teeing off at approximately 3pm.
