Heavy rain postpones first round at Bellerive
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Torrential rains brought by Hurricane Gustav have forced the first round of the BMW Championship to be postponed until Friday.
Bellerive Country Club absorbed more than 3 inches of rain in a 15-hour period, rendering the layout unplayable. The decision was made to delay the first round for a day at approximately 12:30 p.m. ET.
"We've got a golf course that's unfortunately underwater," PGA TOUR Tournament Director Slugger White said. "It's been inundated. We've got 16 miles of drainage out there that's having trouble putting it anywhere. ...
"It may be as bad as I've seen in a long, long time. It's a shame."
The last time Bellerive was scheduled to host a PGA TOUR event was the 2001 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. The entire tournament had to be canceled due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
With sunshine in the forecast for the next three days, the first round of the third event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup will begin at 11:40 a.m. ET on Friday with 36 holes set for Saturday. The final round is expected to be played as scheduled on Sunday.
"We've got a mess out there," White said. "It's unfortunate. Chuck Gast and his crew have done a wonderful job of putting this thing together. This will give us an extra 24 hours of drying time and I think it's the best thing to do."
Players will be re-paired in threesomes after the first round with the leaders going off No. 1 on Saturday morning. They will remain in those groupings for the third round that afternoon but will be re-paired according to score in twosomes on Sunday.
"In a perfect world, we'll be in pairs on Sunday on one tee and we'll crown another wonderful champion here at the FedExCup," White said.
NBC is scheduled to broadcast from 12-3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The GOLF CHANNEL will pick up the action that afternoon when NBC leaves the air. NBC's coverage of the final round is scheduled from 2-6 p.m. ET.
What course superintendent Chuck Gast called a "slow soaker" actually did no physical damage to the revered course originally designed by Robert Trent Jones and renovated in 2006 by his son, Rees.
After the steady downpour, though, the creeks that wind through the property were swollen and water had puddled on greens and in fairways. There are some minor washouts in several bunkers, but those drain so well Gast doesn't anticipate having to pump them.
"We'll be able to whip it back into shape by tomorrow morning," Gast said. "I think you'll see we'll bounce back pretty quickly."
Gast has mobilized a crew of 70 who will work into the night to make sure the course is ready for the $7 million event to commence. They'll use squeegees and blowers to neutralize the water that blanketed the course.
"The fact that we renovated in '06 (means that) everything is in good shape to handle a rain event like this," Gast said. "We have a natural creek system that flows quite well. I don't think you'll see any standing water."
Hunter Mahan, who stands 20th in the FedExCup standings and was named Tuesday to play on his first Ryder Cup team, said he doesn't think it will be a problem to play 36 holes in one day. There could even be an upside in terms of momentum.
"It comes with the job," Mahan said. "Part of golf is weather, and sometimes it hurts kind of the pace of play and everything. We'll all deal with it. It's not going to be a big deal playing 36. This course is pretty simple to walk. It's not really hilly or anything like that.
"... If you get playing well, it could really help you out because you just keep going and keep going and keep making birdies. I don't think it's a plus or minus, but if you definitely get on the right momentum, you can definitely ride it for a long time."
Mahan, who sat with a towel draped over his shoulders as he met with the reporters after play was called, saw the rain Thursday morning but decided to come out to the course "just to be safe." He felt Bellerive held up extremely well, considering the onslaught.
"Luckily I've heard the drainage is exceptional here, and it looks pretty good," he said. "For the amount of rain we've had, for most courses it would have been over the first couple hours of rain. The zoysia fairways are strong it's a strong grass. It can take just about anything.
The rain should make Bellerive play longer than its prodigious 7,386 yards -- and will make the three par-4s that measure more than 490 extremely difficult. At the same time, though, the greens will be more receptive once play begins.
"There's a couple holes that are really long, and it's just going to make them longer, but it is going to make the greens softer," Mahan explained. "The greens are big and severe, so you can be more aggressive with the second shots and just fire away at the pins because you know the ball is going to stop."
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