Verizon Heritage postponed under the pretense of "unsafe" conditions

The forecast in Charleston today called for winds that exceeded even my golf tolerance, leaving me with the perfect opportunity to sit around and watch golf. Turning on a PGA event and seeing flag sticks that are damn near horizontal usually makes me very happy, because I’m a bit of a sadist when it comes to watching touring pros struggle. But the postponement of today’s final round at Harbor Town Golf Links spoiled one of the few chances I’ve had to watch the conclusion of a tournament this season. Even last week I was forced to listen to Sunday Masters coverage on the radio while driving home from Atlanta, an experience I would liken to shanking a shot that ends up in play- something that works in a pinch that you’d never want to go through again. So I was quite perturbed that a little bit of wind spoiled my chances of watching a tournament I’ve always enjoyed. I later learned that a marshal was injured by a falling branch, and I’ll be the first to say that the right decision was made if it was made in the interest of safety. But the skeptic in me thinks that if this course were in the middle of a treeless pasture that posed no threat we might have seen the same result.

The weather was just as bad this morning as it was at around 3pm when play was called, yet several players who were out of contention almost finished their rounds. On several occasions we’ve seen play continue on Tour amidst the certainty that lightning was approaching and in the area. Every tournament today shows spectators standing directly in front of a player just before he hits his ball over their heads. I’m just not sure I can believe that today’s weather conditions were any more dangerous than things to which we’ve grown accustom.

However, one distinguishing characteristic of the Verizon Heritage is that the event is reminiscent of a huge festival in which it is impossible to tell where one party ends and the other begins. Today Sea Pines Resort was more like a ghost town, leaving no one to buy the beer or merchandise. Had the gallery been willing to party in the wind, we may have seen the conclusion of this event, falling tree limbs, wayward golf shots and all.