The final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am will now take place on Monday after heavy rain and strong winds put paid to any chance of play on Sunday.
The PGA Tour has released a statement confirming the news that reads: "The final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been postponed to Monday February 5 due to inclement weather and safety concerns.”
The statement then explains that tee times are scheduled for 8-10.25am PT off numbers one and 10.
Update on the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am pic.twitter.com/LotJJHcO1gFebruary 4, 2024
Even before the tournament began, there had been uncertainty over whether it would finish on Sunday, with heavy wind and rain on Wednesday leaving Tony Finau using a driver on the par 3 seventh during his preparations for the signature event.
However, even though the inclement weather relented to some degree during the first three rounds, similar conditions were in the forecast for Sunday, and sure enough, the wind and rain returned with a vengeance.
Despite the ominous forecast, there had still been some optimism that there would be play on Sunday, with Chief Referee of the PGA Tour, Gary Young, telling the media after the third round: "We're going to be in here at 5.00am tomorrow morning to assess what's going on.
“We have really high winds forecasted, it hasn't come down at all. He's talking about gusts in the 60s and even above that range, so sustained winds 35 to 40 miles per hour in the morning. So we're going to come in and we are going to make a decision on whether or not we're going to be able to start."
After an announcement that play had been delayed and that the first tee time would not be before 10am PT, that was later updated to an earliest possible start of noon PT, before the decision was taken to try again on Monday.
Even if play had gone ahead on Sunday, fans would not have been in attendance after an announcement that gates would be closed to spectators and volunteers “out of an abundance of caution.”
At the time, it was also promised that “should play be carried over to Monday February 5th, further details about spectator access will be communicated in due course.”
The tournament is set for an intriguing finish with US Open champion Wyndham Clark leading the way after his third round of 60 left him one shot ahead of Swede Ludvig Aberg.
Whoever does close out victory will do so on Monday for the second year in succession. Last year, Justin Rose had to wait an extra day to claim his first title in four years, with heavy wind preventing play finishing on the Sunday.
The weather forecast for Monday suggests the strong wind will relent with showers and isolated thunderstorms likely.
