The 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, the tour's season opener at Paradise Island, has been shortened to 54 holes after gusty winds forced the suspension of play throughout Friday.
Sustained winds at the Ocean Club Golf Course were at 30-35 mph with gusts even higher, making it near impossible to expect players to score reasonably in the conditions. Specifically, it wasn't feasible to prevent golf balls from being windswept on the ocean-exposed 13th hole. Play was called Friday at 8:39 a.m.
“Yesterday we were able to play and complete the round, but we did have an isolated ball move here and there, but it wasn’t much and we could get it right back into play,” said Sue Witters, the LPGA’s vice president of Tour rules and competition, on Friday. “This morning was a different story. The winds are up from what they were and we got to the point on 13 where we could not get a ball to stay at rest on the green.”
With second-round play resuming Saturday and wrapping up on Sunday, the goal is to finish 54 holes to make the event official and avoid a Monday finish.
This is the second time in the event's six-year history the event hasn't concluded in a regulation 72 holes. In the inaugural year in 2013, the tournament was shortened to three, 12-hole rounds after six holes on the course became unplayable after storms.
