Every year, we here at Golf Digest stage a company tournament called the Seitz Cup. It’s a Ryder Cup-style event that splits our staff into two teams by age (old vs. young). We typically hold it in late September or, often, October, which doesn’t do us any favors in the weather department. Over the years, we’ve had lousy conditions here and there, with the tournament being hampered by rain … and snow if you can believe that. Plus, we’ve had nonstop wind and frigid temps that have led to folks breaking out a coonskin cap or two.
This doesn’t make us exactly like the pros, but we understand what they’re going through. And so, Golf Digest’s expert panel got together and debated rain/weather-shortened tournaments, especially when it comes to PGA Tour events that don’t make it to the full 72 holes.
Should the event officially count if it doesn’t make it to No. 18 on Sunday? How much does this sort of thing matter? Should we add an asterisk to the tournament’s Wikipedia page? All that and more below. And, as always, there are very few agreements.
Tod Leonard, Senior Editor: I guess it depends on how we define a “true” win. No, having the best score in a rain-shortened event is not like winning a 72-hole title, but it’s not in the players’ control over how many rounds are played when Mother Nature gets involved. It’s not like you can play make-up rounds like make-up games in baseball, and the PGA Tour has such a tight schedule that even Mondays are problematic for everybody. Pebble Beach’s “Crosby weather,” of course, has made for some interesting situations, including a Monday finish in 1962 because of a snow delay, and the only cancellation of the tournament after 36 holes in 1996 because rainwater accumulated on one hole at Spyglass Hill. (We can’t imagine the PGA Tour EVER making that choice again.) And it was at Pebble in 2024 that Wyndham Clark was declared the winner after 54 holes because the forecast was so bad. The dude shot 60(!) in the third round for the course record at Pebble Beach to come from seven shots back. That feels like a championship-worthy performance to me. I’d bet when Clark sees his trophy there’s only a fleeting thought that it came over 54 holes, and the $3.6 million check cleared the bank.
Jamie Kennedy, Director of Content & Social Media: It’s the definition of an asterisk win. So few 54-hole leaders win events; winning a rain-shortened event feels a little like that. Perhaps the reason the asterisk was invented!
Greg Gottfried, Web Producer: It’d be one thing if the golf was being played on different days with different weather patterns. But these professional events throw everyone out to the (weather) wolves for a reason. You can’t pick when it rains or when the wind picks up. And we’re betting your opponent can’t either. Should we blame the pros for tough luck? No. They did the best they could and outlasted the field. A win’s a win, no matter how much time you need to dry.
David Cannon
MORE: Should amateurs earn prize money when they make the cut in a pro event?
E. Michael Johnson, Equipment Editor: Does the tour recognize it as a win? Then you have your answer. Many 54-hole winners count as official. Adam Scott’s playoff win, after only 36 holes, at Riviera does not. Legitimacy is not in the eye of the beholder but in the rules governing the event. It’s not really a debate at all—it’s just in the black-and-white fine print of the competition, be it a club event or a PGA Tour tournament. For someone to unilaterally decide to cheapen someone else’s accomplishment is just, well, cheap.
Joel Beall, Senior Writer: Mostly no. Championship golf is played over 72 holes for a reason: This distance has been carefully calibrated over decades to separate true champions from pretenders. The standard four-round format allows enough time for players to demonstrate consistency, recover from poor rounds and prove their mettle when it matters most. The issue with shortened tournaments is timing and psychology. Ninety-nine percent of rain-shortened events are called after the fact, meaning players had no idea during their rounds that they were essentially playing for the championship. They approach shots differently when they believe they have 36 more holes to make up ground versus knowing every shot could determine the winner. We’ve witnessed this repeatedly in professional golf: players who seem invincible through 54 holes collapse when the pressure intensifies. The finality of a tournament reveals character in ways that earlier rounds simply cannot. Without that crucible, we’re left with an incomplete test.
Ryan Herrington, Managing Editor: Yes, and my reasoning is that everyone in the field is essentially facing the same elements, both physically (with the weather) and mentally (with the stops and starts and waiting and wondering caused by the weather). So rising to the top of the leaderboard and appreciating the fact that things are going to be different takes a mindset that deserves its own reward. Give credit to the PGA Tour for mandating that everything gets done—including rolling into Monday—in order to get a full 72 holes completed for an event. But in the rare occasions when there’s only the chance for 54 holes—thinking 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am—the challenge remains.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
