The Northern Trust will get a Monday finish this year.
The PGA Tour announced on Saturday that the final round of the first FedExCup Playoffs event will be postponed until Monday due to Hurricane Henri — which is rapidly approaching the New York City area.
“It looks like [the storm is] on a path 80 to 85 miles to our east,” PGA Tour tournament director John Mutch said, via Golfweek. “They are expecting landfall, it could be anywhere but what I’m hearing is somewhere around Long Island. We are on the good side of it. But it’s going to bring two to four inches of rain, wind, sustained winds, gusts to 35, maybe even up to 60 if we get on the wrong side of this.
“For public safety, for everyone’s safety, we felt it was the right thing to do.”
Henri was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday afternoon. It’s expected to gain strength through Saturday night, and will likely make landfall in the northeast as a Category 1 storm on Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
A hurricane warning is in effect for significant parts of Long Island, parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. A tropical storm warning is in place for New York City and coastal New Jersey, where Liberty National sits.
What if it’s still raining on Monday?
While moving play on Sunday makes sense, there is no guarantee that Monday’s weather will be that much better.
Rain and scattered thunderstorms are forecasted throughout the area on Monday, which could prove to be tough on the golf course after the hurricane moves through.
Mutch said that they will be taking down most of the course on Saturday, and then will rebuild it in time for Monday’s final round. Tee times will start no earlier than 7:30 a.m. ET. Groupings for the final round will be set on Sunday, and players will go off in threesomes on both tees to try and finish as fast as possible.
It’s unclear how the Tour will proceed if Monday’s round is altered due to weather, as the BMW Championship is supposed to start on Thursday.
“We’re not thinking about that right now,” Mutch said. “We fully expect to be able to play Monday. We really need seven hours … I think we’ll be here on Monday and I hope to get a winner on Monday.”
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