Golf is played over 72 holes at the highest level and despite the emergence of LIV Golf in recent years, the four day, four round format remains one of the game’s pillars.
Competing over four intense rounds of action has been a mainstay of golf for as long as we can think back to and apart from certain events, players win by going through all 72 holes and sometimes more.
However, there are occasions when playing all 72 holes is just impossible.
In that case, the fourth round is usually cut from the event and the rules allow for a winner to be decided – with full money and ranking points – based on their 54-hole scores.
This weekend saw the DP World Tour’s South African Open take that decision, as flooded fairways caused a suspension of play and Laurie Canter and Dylan Naidoo battled it out on a playoff to decide the winner.
However, it’s not the only time it’s happened, with some high profile events being turned into 54 hole outings for various reasons – usually the weather.
South African Open follows Pebble Beach in cancelling round four
There are certain events on the schedule that are already set for the 54-hole format. The likes of the BMW Australian PGA Championship is one, as is the Grant Thornton Invitational.
However, in the main, we go for the full 72 holes.
Still, cancellations do happen and we only have to look back to 2024 when Pebble Beach took the decision which allowed Wyndham Clark to win out at the AT&T Pro-Am.
Interestingly, 2024 also saw the Cognizant Classic have to take drastic action as they cancelled Sunday’s final round, moving it instead to the Monday to get things finished.
2024 also saw the PGA Tour Champions cancel a full round, as they took the decision to decide the Chubb Classic back in February after just 36 holes.
When the PGA Tour cancelled They Players after just one round
While cancelling rounds due to weather or moving them to fit over the weekend is not that uncommon, cancelling an entire tournament after just a single round is very rare indeed.
But that’s what happened back in 2020 when golf attempted to navigate the treacherous waters of the pandemic.
The PGA Tour were forced to cancel The Players – one of its signature events – to prevent the spread of disease.
Typically, Hideki Matsuyama was in contention to win having shot a course record nine under round of 63 on the opening round.
The PGA Tour were forced to cancel a number of events following The Players as the world effectively ground to a halt.
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