The BMW Australian PGA Championship has officially been shortened to a 54-hole tournament following relentless rain that has drenched the Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Tournament officials were forced to halt play on Friday before the second round even began, with an astonishing 250mm of rain having fallen since last Friday.
The heavy downpours turned sections of the course into small lakes, leaving several fairways waterlogged and unplayable.
Jose Maria Zamora, DP World Tour Tournament Director for the BMW Australian PGA Championship, explained the difficult decision to delay proceedings: “Continued downpours throughout the morning have left a number of fairways at Royal Queensland Golf Club saturated and the course has been deemed unplayable today.
We plan to start the second round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at 06:00 on Saturday, with the third and final round on Sunday.
The unexpected change in schedule creates a tight timeline, as logistics are already in place for next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open, which will be played across two courses. Zamora emphasised the need to bring the championship to its planned conclusion:
“We want to ensure we are able to bring this incredible tournament to the planned conclusion on Sunday, mindful of the logistics of playing next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open over two courses.”
As the clock ticks down to Saturday morning’s rescheduled second round, everyone from players to fans and the folks running the show is hoping the skies will give us a break.
The BMW Australian PGA Championship, always a standout event on the golf calendar, has hit a bit of a water hazard this year, but the team behind the scenes is all hands on deck, working hard to keep the tournament swinging along smoothly.
