Sport
Tiger Woods on track to becoming No.1 – will need to win Bay Hill Title
Tiger Woods acknowledges the crowd during the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament, Sunday March 24, 2013. PHOTO/Phelan M. Ebenhack
(Reuters) – Tiger Woods’s bid to regain the world number one ranking will have to wait a day after violent thunderstorms hit the Bay Hill Club, halting the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.
After assessing damage by the powerful storm the PGA Tour announced the final round would resume on Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.
“We just got so much rain and wind, we’ve got some bunker problems, we’ve got a lot of standing water. That is the main thing,” Mark Russell, PGA Tour vice-president of rules and competitions, told reporters. “It just got to the point where we weren’t going to be able to get the golf course ready.
Woods had rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt on the second hole to open up a three-shot cushion when warning horns were sounded to evacuate the course, sending spectators and players running for cover. Heavy rains and violent winds, reported at over 80 km/h (50 mph), soon followed, ripping branches from trees, cutting off power and turning Bay Hill into one massive water hazard.
“We didn’t get in much,” said Woods. “We got in two holes and hopefully the course will be drained and we can get after it on Monday.”
Woods, a 14-time major winner can reclaim the number one world ranking from Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy with a victory at Bay Hill, where he has won seven times previously.
The PGA Tour has been plagued by weather woes this season. Torrey Pines was forced to a Monday finish because of fog while high winds pushed the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii to a Tuesday conclusion.
