NORTON, Mass. – With rain continuing to fall Sunday morning at TPC Boston, the PGA Tour made the decision to cancel what little play had already occurred during the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, instead opting for a fresh start to the round when conditions improve.
Originally players were set to play in twosomes off No. 1 tee; when play resumes at 12:15 p.m. ET, they will be in threesomes off both Nos. 1 and 10.
“It’s just an unfortunate situation,” explained PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell. “It got a lot worse than we thought it was going to be.”
Six groups were able to tee off before play was suspended at 8:46 a.m. local time, with the duo of Zach Johnson and Stuart Appleby reaching as far as the sixth hole. The Tour opted to wash their scores, though, as a restart in threesomes off split tees affords a better opportunity to get the event back on schedule.
“Off one tee we were in big trouble,” noted Russell, who added that lift, clean and place conditions will be in effect when play resumes. “That’s going to give us our best chance of finishing this round today and into tomorrow.”
Included among the players whose early scores were erased was Rory McIlroy, who was 1-under on his round and facing a lengthy eagle putt at the reachable par-4 fourth hole. Former world No. 1 Luke Donald also saw the start of his third round wiped out.
“My two holes this morning just got cancelled,” Donald wrote on Twitter. “Shame really, made a nice birdie on 1!”
The day’s final group will now tee off at 2:15 p.m. ET and includes Roberto Castro, Henrik Stenson and overnight leader Sergio Garcia. Tiger Woods will play with Hunter Mahan and Kevin Stadler beginning at 12:55 p.m. ET, while Phil Mickelson will be joined by Brian Gay and Nicholas Thompson at 1:25 p.m., with all three groups still starting their rounds on the first hole.