Fittingly, on Halloween week, some very spooky things are happening at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
First, there was a cavalcade of withdraws by a number players in the field, so many that the PGA Tour dug deep into its alternates bag and still failed to put together a full 132-player field. There were a number of reasons for players pulling out, including travel difficulties and Bermuda’s tight COVID-19 policies that are still in place. As a result, the field resembles a PGA Tour event that might have taken place a decade (or two) ado.
Second, those aforementioned travel difficulties have lived up to their name, something defending champion Brian Gay experienced first-hand when he wasn’t allowed on his flight because his plane was “too heavy”.
On Wednesday, Mother Nature decided to join the chaos party with some scattered showers and “dangerous” 40mph wind gusts. The pro-am was cancelled and the golf course was closed for the remainder of the day:
For fans of carnage, there is apparently more wacky weather to come in Southampton over the next few days. According to the 10-day forecast on Weather.com, winds will be 20 to 30mph for Thursday’s opening round, and no rain is expected. Friday should be a bit more clear, as the sun is expected to peak out in the morning. Winds will still be noticeable at 10 to 20mph.
The weekend is when things should get very interesting, with plenty of rain and winds in the forecast:
Ahhh, yes, just what this week needs – a Monday finish.
PHOTO: Gregory Shamus