Nature Takes Its Course

What is it about rain at the Nissan Open? Three of the last four years have produced at least one rain delay and Monday’s cancellation of the third round produced the first PGA Tour event reduced to 36 holes since the 1996 Buick Challenge. However, tournament director and PGA Rules Official Mark Russell offered no indication that the date of the Nissan will be changed next year because it would mean having to alter the entire Tour schedule, saying: ‘I just don’t picture a scenario where that would happen.’ The bigger question is whether Russell decided to cancel the third round too soon. Minutes after Adam Scott and Chad Campbell had finished their anti-climactic playoff and Scott picked up his ‘unofficial’ victor, the clouds lifted and blue skies appeared over Riviera Country Club. As it turned out, the incoming storm that was supposed to arrive early that afternoon never came. Given the amount of water the course had absorbed, however, and the three to four hours that would have been needed to prepare it for play, it’s safe to say officials made the right call. No one could have imagined mother nature would play such a dirty trick. Bob Lowe, the calligrapher responsible for updating the master scoreboard in the press tent, tried to give disgruntled reporters and restless event staff bit of comic relief. When Jon Reigger quit the event after carding a first-round 75, Lowe wrote ‘withdrew… ‘aqua phobic’ after his name. Lowe cited ‘nonswimmer’ as the reason for Jonathan Kaye’s similar surrender. For the players who remained, the event became an exercise in futility. When it was determined that a playoff between the co-leaders would be played Monday to determine the winner, Riviera’s famous 18th hole was chosen not for it’s difficulty, but for a practical reason. ‘We didn’t necessarily have to choose the 18th hole for the playoff,’ said Dave Lancer, Director of Information for the PGA Tour. ‘We picked that hole because there were no bunkers in play for our guys and it’s the highest point of land on the property.’ To the grounds crew’s relief, the event did not extend to a second playoff hole, though Campbell wishes it would have. The difference between his runner-up check and the one Scott received was $350,000. That equates to $10,000 for every inch Scott’s winning putt traveled on its way to the cup. Campbell was almost apologetic afterwards, even thanking the media for staying to the end. It was he who summed up the tournament best: ‘We were at the mercy of the weather this week.’