Snow delays 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona

The Thursday morning restart at the WGC-Accenture Match Play has been pushed back yet again to Noon local time (2 p.m. ET). The sun has finally come out at Dove Mountain, so PGA Tour officials are counting on a quick thaw and melting of the snow cover that blanketed the course this morning.

This is the third change to the scheduled start time on Thursday morning, with officials repeatedly pushing things back from the original 10:30 a.m. ET restart. If there are no further delays, the remaining nine matches should go off at the following times:

The WGC-Accenture has been put on a two-hour delay, pushing the start time back to 10:30 a.m. local time, 12:30 p.m. ET, but golfers aren’t too confident the course will be ready even with the extra time.

UPDATE: The start time has been delayed an additional hour, pushing the start time to 1:30 p.m. ET.

Weather continues to delay the WGC-Accenture Match Play event in Marana, Ariz., but Thursday’s play will begin at 9:30 a.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET) after a one-hour delay. Opening round play was suspended around 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday due to heavy snowfall at the Dove Mountain course.

UPDATE: Latest delay, an additional 30 minutes, pushing the start time to 2:00 p.m. ET.

The first day at Dove Mountain didn’t settle much in the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play, as not a single golfer advanced to the second round thanks to a wild snow storm hitting the Tuscon area. The first match of the day got to the 16th hole, but none of the 64 golfers has been eliminated yet and a third of the first round matches have not even started.

Play was suspended for the day just after 1 p.m. local time, and PGA Tour official Mark Russell told Golf Channel that they will restart the 1st Round Thursday morning. But if temperatures stay in the 30s, that blanket of snow may not be gone by early morning. The weather for the rest of the week is supposed to be clear. But the beginning of a tournament, including this atypical format, is the worst time for a delay with the full field still needing to make their way around the course.

The PGA Tour has cancelled first round play on Wednesday at the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Mark Russell of the PGA Tour was set to update the players with an announcement around 3 p.m. ET, and as expected, play was called at the snowy Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz.

Play was suspended just after 11 a.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) as the precipitation turned to freezing rain and then snow. The snow started to accumulate on the greens, making the putting surface unplayable. It didn’t take long for the accumulation to turn the course white, with the fairways and greens completely covered less than an hour after play was called.

The first round of the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play is not off to the best of starts, thanks to some nasty weather in Marana, Ariz. Because of the heightened elevation, snow, sleet, and freezing rain are possible at Dove Mountain and those elements combined for an early whitewash on the greens on Wednesday. The matches were suspended around 1 p.m. ET because of the accumulating snow on the putting surfaces.

***Update -- Video of the course less than an hour after play was suspended: