Weather suspends Round 1 of Players Championship as storms hit TPC Sawgrass

UPDATE: Play is scheduled to resume at 3:15 p.m. ET on Thursday.

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It didn’t take long for this week’s ominous Players Championship weather forecast to hold true. Heavy rain and storms were predicted for much of the week at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and they’ve already arrived.

The start of Thursday’s opening round was delayed an hour due to one to three inches of rain that fell overnight, and with the soggy conditions the PGA Tour elected to play preferred lies for the first round. Just over three hours after those first tee shots were launched, play was suspended again. And this time it will likely last longer.

Rain started to fall shortly after 10 a.m. ET, and the horn blew to suspend play at 11 a.m. due to more rain, thunderstorms and lightning entering the area. The Golf Channel broadcast said based on the radar, the current delay looks to be a minimum of two to three hours, if not more.

A handful of players made the turn but no one has played more than 12 holes. Harold Varner III, Will Zalatoris and Tommy Fleetwood lead at four under. (Click here for current scores.)

This story will be updated.

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Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.

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