‘Seek shelter immediately’ – PGA Championship suspended moments before Rory McIlroy tees off
The PGA Championship has been suspended due to dangerous weather as Rory McIlroy’s preparations continue to be hampered. The Masters champion, who was forced to change his driver shortly before his first round, has now seen the start of his third delayed. McIlroy had been due to tee off before play was suspendedGetty The 36-year-old was strolling towards the first tee when the horn sounded at Quail Hollow to confirm play had been put on hold. McIlroy looked visibly frustrated after hearing the horn as he whipped out a grimace before letting out an exasperated sigh. The five-time major champion then saw the funny side as he started half-laughing before being caught audibly mouthing, ‘f*** o***’. Bad weather has threatened to wreak havoc on the second major of the year all week, following a washout at the property on Monday. Initially, the lack of practice time looked to play into the hands of 2025 Masters champion McIlroy, a four-time winner at this venue. However, the Northern Irishman endured a fight to make the cut after shooting 69 to be one over par heading into the weekend. He is Tied-62 and nine shots off half-way leader Jhonattan Vegas, with a stellar third round needed to reignite any hopes of being in contention on Sunday. But his hopes were further dampened by the suspension of play caused by storms in the area just before his tee time on Saturday, scheduled for 1:25pm BST. A statement from the PGA Championship, issued at 1:20pm BST, read: “Play has been SUSPENDED at 8:15 AM due to dangerous weather in the area. “Please seek shelter immediately. Further updates to follow.” View Tweet: https://t.co/2aKc04TEZq The PGA Championship has been suspended due to dangerous weatherGetty There was an expectation that the storms would pass through the area by 10am local time (3pm BST), according to local reports. Yet the restart of play won’t be so sharp, with practice also earlier suspended for 17 minutes due to the threat of lightning in the area. The PGA Tour have since confirmed that the third round will now feature threesomes off split tees from 11:43am-1:55pm (16:43pm-18:55pm BST). Revised starting times will be released shortly, with McIlroy’s new time yet to be confirmed. Once it is, the world No.2 will have to reset his focus to stage a comeback, something Paul McGinley doubts he can do. “I don’t think it’s just the driver,” McGinley said. McIlroy’s reaction was clear to see as he walked towards the first tee “It’s his whole game, I don’t see him tuned in, the same concentration levels at Augusta, there are reasons, the euphoria of Augusta. “The high emotionally, there needs to be a big reset, unless something radically happens, I think he’s struggling, I don’t think he’s firing at all and not in a position to win and race through the field.”
The PGA Championship has been suspended due to dangerous weather as Rory McIlroy’s preparations continue to be hampered.
The Masters champion, who was forced to change his driver shortly before his first round, has now seen the start of his third delayed.
The 36-year-old was strolling towards the first tee when the horn sounded at Quail Hollow to confirm play had been put on hold.
McIlroy looked visibly frustrated after hearing the horn as he whipped out a grimace before letting out an exasperated sigh.
The five-time major champion then saw the funny side as he started half-laughing before being caught audibly mouthing, ‘f*** o***’.
Bad weather has threatened to wreak havoc on the second major of the year all week, following a washout at the property on Monday.
Initially, the lack of practice time looked to play into the hands of 2025 Masters champion McIlroy, a four-time winner at this venue.
However, the Northern Irishman endured a fight to make the cut after shooting 69 to be one over par heading into the weekend.
He is Tied-62 and nine shots off half-way leader Jhonattan Vegas, with a stellar third round needed to reignite any hopes of being in contention on Sunday.
But his hopes were further dampened by the suspension of play caused by storms in the area just before his tee time on Saturday, scheduled for 1:25pm BST.
A statement from the PGA Championship, issued at 1:20pm BST, read: “Play has been SUSPENDED at 8:15 AM due to dangerous weather in the area.
“Please seek shelter immediately. Further updates to follow.”
There was an expectation that the storms would pass through the area by 10am local time (3pm BST), according to local reports.
Yet the restart of play won’t be so sharp, with practice also earlier suspended for 17 minutes due to the threat of lightning in the area.
The PGA Tour have since confirmed that the third round will now feature threesomes off split tees from 11:43am-1:55pm (16:43pm-18:55pm BST).
Revised starting times will be released shortly, with McIlroy’s new time yet to be confirmed.
Once it is, the world No.2 will have to reset his focus to stage a comeback, something Paul McGinley doubts he can do.
“I don’t think it’s just the driver,” McGinley said.
“It’s his whole game, I don’t see him tuned in, the same concentration levels at Augusta, there are reasons, the euphoria of Augusta.
“The high emotionally, there needs to be a big reset, unless something radically happens, I think he’s struggling, I don’t think he’s firing at all and not in a position to win and race through the field.”
