Update: Play resumed at 3:50 p.m. ET after a delay of one hour and 53 minutes.
The race to see who will lift the FedEx Cup — and collect the absurd $18 million first-place prize – will have to wait just a bit.
For the second day in a row, players at East Lake have marked their balls and headed in for shelter as play was suspended during the final round of the Tour Championship at 1:57 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
A small storm cell developed quickly just west of the golf course, forcing officials to bring the players off the course given the proximity to lightning.
The final group had just teed off 17 minutes prior. Leader Viktor Hovland and closest chaser Xander Schauffele both birdied the opening hole, but Hovland faced a 15-foot par putt at the second green.
Play was also suspended Saturday just before 5:30 p.m. ET and did not resume for 75 minutes due to a similar situation with a storm cell “popping up” just to the north of East Lake.
While Saturday’s delay was unexpected, Sunday’s was forecasted. The PGA Tour’s morning weather report indicated an increasing chance of rain and thunderstorms beginning at 2 p.m. The chance for thunderstorms will increase as the afternoon goes on, reaching 50 percent by 6 p.m.
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Heavy rain had started falling at the golf course by 2:10 p.m. All 30 players in the field were still on the golf course when play was suspended, with the first groups on the 16th hole.
This is the second straight Tour Championship affected by weather delays. The 2022 Tour Championship was suspended twice during the third round, forcing that round’s competition on Sunday morning.
Hovland has maintained his six-shot lead through his first hole at 21 under. The lowest round on the course when play was suspended belonged to Adam Schenk, who started birdie-par-eagle-birdie to jump four spots on the leaderboard to T4 at 13 under.
Weather has been a story in recent weeks on the PGA Tour with multiple suspensions throughout the last four events. Extreme heat and humidity have also been a factor with heat indexes reaching triple digits this week and two weeks ago in Memphis.
The storm cleared out around 3 p.m. and play resumed at 3:50 p.m. ET after a delay of one hour and 53 minutes. The golf course received nearly a half inch of rain during the delay.
