Flashback: Will The PGA Move Up Tee Times To Prevent A Repeat Of Baltusrol in 2005?
/You have to go back seven years in the GeoffShackelford.com archives to relive the boondoggle that was the 2005 PGA Championship and the PGA of America's decision to not budge on Sunday tee times despite an expected afternoon thunderstorm.
And since I just read Richard Sandomir's review of the dismal Sunday situation and the even worse Monday CBS coverage--noting the (then) disjointed telecast caused by too many commercials, which has gotten worse since then--one wonders if tee time stance will be the same if the forecast holds.
Here's the part about the decision not to move up tee times, which CBS said was all on the PGA of America:
As for the notion that CBS was somehow at fault for the fourth round not being completed on Sunday, Correa said the network did not demand a 3 p.m. tee time for the final pairing or stand in the way of starting the round an hour earlier.
"The P.G.A. of America is responsible for the scheduling of the tournament," he said. "It's up to them."
He said CBS would not have objected to an earlier start "if the weather reports were that severe."
The delay was long enough to cause a major to spill into Monday, but 60 Minutes did get that all-important strong lead-in.
Will the PGA hold their ground again in 2012 if a similar situation arises? Let's hope we don't have to find out.