Play scrapped at Kapalua, Tuesday finish planned

A little more than an hour of the already long-delayed first round was possible before officials halted the action at the Kapalua Resort, scrapping the scores and aiming for a Tuesday finish to an event trimmed to 54 holes.

Thirty-six holes are planned for Monday with a two-tee start for the 30-man, winners-only field, followed by 18 holes the following day.

“We tried,” Slugger White, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competition, told reporters. “We were on the edge when we started out at 11:10 and we were probably okay for about 30-45 minutes.

“And then the bottom fell out. We were having gusts out there of about 48 miles per hour. Balls were blowing off the green and we couldn't even get a ball to come to rest on the 12th green when we stopped.

“It started off bad and got worse. We washed the round out today and we're going to try again.”

As high winds continued to batter the Hawaiian island of Maui, chaotic scenes were the order of the day after Rickie Fowler struck the first shot in the re-scheduled opening round when he teed off at the par-4 first.

Fellow American Matt Kuchar, who hit the first shot on the 10th hole, had a lengthy conversation with rules officials after his ball was twice blown off his tee before he eventually set off.

Scott Stallings was not quick enough to mark a one-foot putt at the 12th before his ball was blown seven feet away. His cap followed suit soon after.

Watched In Shock

Fellow American Ben Curtis reached the green in regulation at both the 10th and 11th but completed those holes in a combined 5-over par. He had watched in shock as his ball, after settling, was blown off the back of the 11th green.

Englishman Ian Poulter, Kuchar's playing partner, tweeted: “Well we tried to get it done even if it took a while over shots today as the balls were moving. No one likes penalty shots for no reason.”

Jason Dufner was the early leader at 1-under after five holes with compatriots Fowler and Kuchar (also after five holes) among a group of 12 players knotted at level par when play was suspended.

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