2013 Zurich Classic: Rain delays early Sunday golf in New Orleans

It’s been a nightmare season for the PGA Tour when it comes to inclement weather, as a mixture of thunderstorms, snow, and high winds have affected the schedule of play on almost a weekly basis. Storms in Louisiana have added more difficulty this week, and the PGA Tour tried to hustle to get Sunday’s final round in before a line of nasty weather hit the TPC layout in Avondale. The horn was officially sounded at 11:23 a.m. ET.

Officials sent groups off in threesomes off split tees starting at 6 a.m. ET, but the leaders, who went out at 10:01 a.m. ET managed to get in just five holes before play was called. The decision to send out everyone early is one that Mark Russell and the PGA Tour officials have faced repeatedly this season, and they were ripped by some players for sticking to the schedule at Bay Hill last month. Storms came in as forecasted and hammered that tournament on Sunday, forcing another Monday finish. In New Orleans, they attempted to sneak things in Sunday, or at least get as much completed in the hopes that a resumption later Sunday would occur in time to complete the tournament as scheduled.

Lift, clean, and place rules had been set for the final round, so the course was already taking on water from the storms throughout the week. It may take several restarts, but the Tour is going to do everything it can to try and get the leaders through 18 holes by darkness on Sunday. here’s a current snapshot of the leaderboard: