By Steve Keating
ROCHESTER, New York (Reuters) – The start of first round play at the PGA Championship was pushed back by at least one hour and 15 minutes due to frost on Thursday as overnight temperatures plunged below freezing at Oak Hill Country Club.
Americans Shaun Micheel, Braden Shattuck and New Zealand’s Steven Alker were scheduled to lead the 156 player field out at 7am ET (1100 GMT) but will now tee off 75 minutes after practice facilities are able to reopen.
“Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed,” the PGA of America said in a statement. “To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.”
With temperatures at minus two Celsius (28 Fahrenheit) Oak Hill was left coated in a layer of white, looking more like Christmas, with workers and staff bundled up in winter hats, jackets and gloves.
Located in upstate New York on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, weather conditions had already been a concern around the year’s second major which was moved from late summer to May in a reshuffling of the calendar in 2019.
Temperatures are expected to recover over the weekend but with the forecast calling for rain on Saturday.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Rochester; Editing by Ken Ferris)
