RBC Heritage: Final round suspended due to darkness, Monday finish underway at Harbour Town
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Written by Staff, PGATOUR.COM
Updated: Monday, April 22, 8 a.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage resumed at 8 a.m. ET.
Scheffler, chasing his fourth PGA TOUR win in five starts, authored a signature moment in the waning twilight Sunday, recovering from a hooked 4-iron second shot on the par-4 15th with a sorcerous wedge to 11 feet that he converted for an unlikely par to maintain a five-stroke lead over Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala.
Scheffler, chasing his fourth PGA TOUR win in five starts, stood 20 under for the tournament as the final round was suspended due to darkness at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, with nine players yet to complete the final round on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
This will be the second unscheduled Monday finish on the PGA TOUR this season and first since the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, won by Austin Eckroat. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, won by Wyndham Clark, was shortened to 54 holes after play was unable to be contested on Sunday and Monday.
Sunday’s play at Harbour Town was initially suspended at 4:28 p.m. due to lightning in the area. The final pairing of Scheffler and Sepp Straka had completed 11 holes at the time. Players were removed from the course, with the delay ultimately lasting 2 hours and 32 minutes before play resumed at 7 p.m.
Scottie Scheffler's masterful par save at RBC Heritage
Updated: Sunday, April 21, 7 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage resumes at 7 p.m. ET.
Updated: Sunday, April 21, 6:30 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage will resume at 7 p.m. ET.
Updated: Sunday, April 21, 5:40 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage will not resume at 6 p.m. ET.
Updated: Sunday, April 21, 5:28 p.m. ET: The final round of the RBC Heritage is scheduled to resume at 6 p.m. ET.
Updated: Sunday, April 21, 4:28 p.m. ET: The RBC Heritage’s final round has been suspended due to lightning in the area, with the final groups playing the back nine Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Play was suspended at 4:28 p.m. local time, with leader Scottie Scheffler playing the 12th hole. Players were taken off the course at the time of suspension.
Scheffler began the final round at 16 under, one stroke clear of Sepp Straka, and the world No. 1 turned in 3-under 33 with a chip-in eagle at the par-5 second, a two-putt birdie at the par-5 fifth and seven pars. Scheffler stood 19 under, four strokes clear of the field at the time of delay. Seven players stood 15 under.
“We were hoping to play through this; we felt like we had another 25 minutes left of this heavy rain and were then going to get a break on the back end,” said Mark Dusbabek, the PGA TOUR’s senior director lead TV Rules & Video Analyst, on the CBS broadcast. “We had lightning unfortunately pop up 4 miles away; just suddenly caught us in, so we had to stop play for this. We’re going to see how things go here and make a decision.
"The course was not unplayable. It wasn't because of the rain. It was just because the lightning popped up."
The final round of the RBC Heritage is poised to deliver fans a fantastic finish, but that might not come without a little bit of weather late in the day.
After the first three rounds of tournament golf at Harbour Town Golf Links were accompanied by sunshine and temperatures ranging from the upper 70s into the mid-80s, Sunday could bring golfers a different challenge to navigate as the tournament comes to a close.
According to the forecast, a cold front will be slowly moving southward into the Hilton Head Island area on Sunday, increasing the chances for showers and a few thunderstorms as play gets into the early to mid-afternoon hours and continuing into the evening hours. Storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall. Otherwise, Sunday morning will remain dry with temperatures warming into the mid to upper 70s before falling into the 60s late in the day. Light wind Sunday morning will increase out of the north 10-15 gusting to 20-25 mph late in the day.
The final pairing of the day, Scottie Scheffler and Sepp Straka, are set to tee off at 1:55 p.m. ET. Scheffler holds a one-stroke lead at 16-under.
