PGA Tour forced to suspend RBC Heritage in final round after monsoon floods greens
The PGA Tour temporarily suspended play during the RBC Heritage tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links due to severe rain and lightning, as Scottie Scheffler led by four shots
The RBC Heritage was suspended for an hour and a half after monsoon conditions hit South Carolina. Rain got so bad the greens flooded and were left unplayable.
Play was officially suspended on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina during the tournament’s final day at 4:28 p.m. local time after a light sprinkle of rain turned into heavy showers. The official RBC Heritage social media account reported the closure of concessions, grandstands, and services related to the event due to heavy rain.
The PGA Tour then shared an image on X of tournament leader Scottie Scheffler under an umbrella with his caddie, trying to shield themselves from the downpour that drenched the greens. “We were hoping to play through this; we felt like we had another 25 minutes left of this heavy rain and were then going to get a break on the back end,” said Mark Dusbabek during the broadcast.
“Unfortunately, lightning popped up 4 miles away and just suddenly caught us in, so we had to stop play for this. We’re going to see how things go here and make a decision. The course was not unplayable,” he continued. “It wasn’t because of the rain. It was just because the lightning popped up.”
The PGA updated their original tweet after an hour, confirming play will resume at 6 p.m. ET, one hour and 32 minutes after the delay’s announcement. However, the Tour was then forced to backtrack as rain worsened. Scheffler maintained a commanding four-shot lead through 11 holes before play was brought to a halt, positioning him strongly to clinch his fourth win in five tournaments. Wyndham Clark, Chris Kirk, J.T. Poston, Patrick Rodgers, Sahith Theegala, and Collin Morikawa sit at -15, locked in a six-way tie for second place.
The official forecast for the rest of the tournament predicts 66-degree weather with a 100 percent chance of showers and 14mph winds. Following the official suspension time, the weather report indicated that the winds would persist for another three hours, potentially increasing to 15 miles per hour.
From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time, the likelihood of precipitation decreases from 85 percent to 20 percent, and it further drops to 5 percent before midnight. Notably, rain chances do not increase in the area again after the tournament.
Before the delay, the tournament treated golf fans to several captivating moments on the course, such as J.T. Poston’s impressive tee shot on the 11th hole, which landed nine feet from the pin and set up a birdie putt that he would go on to make.
In a showcase of precision and finesse that would exhilarate the most ardent golf enthusiasts, the tournament highlighted Clark’s tee shot on the daunting par-3 17th hole, settling a mere 3 feet from the elusive pin, setting the stage for a birdie. Adding to the thrill, Sepp Straka’s expertise on the challenging par-4 8th hole evoked thunderous applause from the gallery, intensifying the atmosphere amidst looming predictions of adverse weather conditions.
