US PGA Championship delayed due to frost
- Planet Sport writer
- 18 May 2023
Tournament organisers have delayed the start of the 2023 US PGA Championship due to frost on the East Course at the Oak Hill Country Club.
It's a frigid start to the 105th US PGA Championship in upstate New York.
Play had been scheduled to get underway at 7am local time, but predictions of an overnight frost proved accurate.
Tournament organisers released a statement early on Thursday morning which read: "Due to frost, all Oak Hill Country Club practice facilities and the golf course are currently closed.
"To protect playing surfaces, everyone on-site must stay off any grass and gates will not open until the frost clears.
"Starting times for round one will begin approximately 1hr and 15 minutes after practice facilities open."
The possibility of weather delays had been on the cards since the US PGA was moved from August to May in 2019, with Oak Hill having already been selected as this year's venue.
Speaking on Tuesday, the PGA of America's chief championships officer Kerry Haigh said: "Wherever the championship is [in May] appears as though it will bring some more variety to the weather than we're used to having when we played in August.
"There is the possibility of a frost again on Thursday morning. We had a frost Tuesday morning. We had a couple of frosts last week. That may delay the start. Hopefully, it won't. But if it does, we'll adapt.
"We've got the chance of rain on Saturday and hopefully clear on Sunday. That's sort of the fun of golf. It's an outdoor game and we can't wait to see what Mother Nature brings as well."
