KAPALUA » The small gathering standing at the 10th tee to watch Matt Kuchar and U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson hopefully start the 2013 PGA Tour season was treated to some interesting conversations among caddies, golfers and rules officials.
"This is the worst wind I’ve ever seen," Simpson’s caddie said to no one in particular. Ian Poulter, who was set to tee off with Jonas Blixt after Simpson and Kuchar, told a rules official standing nearby, "You could injure yourself trying to hit the ball in this wind."
Simpson even playfully ran up through the tee box, Happy Gilmore style, but it quickly became no laughing matter.
Kuchar, not wearing a hat for the first time in recent memory after it blew off twice on the driving range, stood on the tee for nearly 10 minutes before finally striking the golf ball. Twice it blew off his tee, prompting a rules official to put his finger on top of the ball like a holder for a place-kicker.
Several times Kuchar tried to address it, only to watch his ball wobble on the tee, prompting him to ask an official if it was OK to hit it. He said yes, so Kuchar waited a little while longer before knocking it dead-center into the 10th fairway into a 30 mph gusting breeze en route to a difficult par.
Simpson, who was leading at 3 under after Friday’s round that was eventually scrubbed due to wind and rain, wasn’t as fortunate, hitting his drive wide left en route to a bogey. The wind was blowing so hard for those strolling up the 10th fairway, you were forced to hold onto any and every thing for fear of being blown off the course. It was just a matter of time before the plug was pulled. Despite clear skies gracing the Plantation Course for the first time in days, this was still not golfing weather.
Officials eventually scrubbed this round as well, prompting a 36-hole attempt today and an 18-hole finish on Tuesday, weather permitting. The Golf Channel will be forced to do a little scrambling itself in order to do a broadcast on Tuesday here, then pack up its TV gear and head over to Honolulu for Thursday’s first round of the Sony Open. Not exactly what folks had in mind for the opening PGA Tour event.
KUCHAR EVENTUALLY made it to the media room to offer his observations of teeing it up at wind-blown No. 10. He and Simpson played the most difficult holes on the course before a 48-mph gust through the first three holes on the back nine forced officials to call off the first round of the tournament for the second time in three days. There was no attempt to play on Saturday.
"I got to 10 tee and they announced my name; I could hardly hear, the wind was blowing so hard," Kuchar said. "The rules officials and the setup guys have done the best they can to keep the balls from rolling on the green and to make the course as playable as possible."
With the forecast calling for similar conditions today and Tuesday, you wonder how they’ll ever get 54 holes in to make this an official event. Few fans braved the conditions Sunday, and you have to believe the 30 players in the field will be playing virtually alone the next two days.
It was nice to see the NBC-TV crew in place, the first time this tournament has been on national TV since shifting to Kapalua. Bad timing, unfortunately. Sports fans not watching the NFL playoffs were treated to wind-blown flag sticks and golf balls rolling every which way. Even Johnny Miller was at a loss for words when asked if he had ever seen anything quite like this.
Tour official Slugger White said wind gusts of nearly 50 mph were blowing across the first few holes on the exposed back nine. Mother Nature has refused to cooperate so far, leaving the golfers yo-yoing back and forth between the Ritz-Carlton and the course.
Kuchar didn’t think it would affect the Sony Open in Hawaii field and said he didn’t expect any golfers to withdraw over the next two days because of the conditions. Defending champion Steve Stricker and Bubba Watson have yet to strike a golf ball, but the mood in the locker room remains light.
"Everybody is still enjoying themselves," Kuchar said. "We’re here in Hawaii and fortunately today the sun is shining, so everybody is in a better mood. All of us are expecting to get out and play 36 (today)."
Reach Paul Arnett at parnett@staradvertiser.com or 529-4786.
