The sun might just be the PGA Tour’s biggest enemy! The opening round of the World Wide Technology Championship has come to an abrupt end. The play was suspended due to darkness at 5:41 pm local time (MT). It was a day of perfect playing conditions. Yet, the sun simply set too soon for the remaining players to finish their first rounds at El Cardonal in Diamente, Mexico.

The suspension caught several players still out on the course, while others had already wrapped up their respective rounds at the $6 M event. As per the PGA Tour leaderboard, six players are left to complete their first round. These are David Ford, Will Chandler, Tyler Weaver, Kevin Velo, Niklas Norgaard, and Raul Pereda. They’ll now get a chance to finish their respective rounds at 7:15 am tomorrow. Interestingly, Velo is one of the alternates who came in after several players withdrew before the tournament could begin.

The actual reason for such logistical failure remains unknown. But if one goes by the PGA Tour’s past incompetencies, then a slow pace of play could be the reason for the halt. The same happened at the Bank of Utah Championship a few days back. Another reason to say this is because the weather had nothing to do with Thursday’s stoppage.

Los Cabos delivered near-ideal golf conditions. There were sunny skies, zero chances of rain, and calm westerly winds moving at a decent speed of 14mph. Temperatures peaked around 86°F, which might have added a bit of heat. Now, as the night is falling, the temperature has dipped to a cool 55°F, under rather cloudy skies. There is a 55% chance of rain, and if that happens, it would just be another bad luck for the PGA Tour. But more so for the players.

The World Wide Technology Championship is one of the last three tournaments that are available for the players to secure their status for 2026. As one might be aware, the PGA Tour now has a limited field of top 100 from the previous threshold of 125 players. Failure to secure a spot leads to a conditional status. That simply means players will have to wait for spots to open at tournaments to eventually compete.

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Players struggle for full exemptions

Several players competing in Mexico are on the bubble. David Lipsky sits at 100, while Sami Valimaki is on 102, just two spots away. After round 1, Lipsky has a total of 3-under par, and he is tied at 44. Valimaki, on the other hand, is on the verge of qualifying his way in, sitting at T1, with an 11 under par.

Thorbjorn Olesen (97), Isaiah Salinda (103), and Patrick Fishburn (104) are several other names. They are sitting at T14, T101, and T74, respectively. These players will have to scramble to get a complete PGA Tour card.

Before the match ended midway, fans were able to see some great performances on the course. Nick Dunlap and Valimaki matched the tournament’s 18-hole scoring record with spectacular rounds of 61. They have now joined the likes of Roland Thatcher (2008), Matthew Wolff (2021), and Carson Young (2024) in the record books.

Dunlap also became the youngest player (21 years) to have multiple rounds of 61 or better on the Tour since 1983. The last time he did this was at the 2024 American Express during Round 3. He ended up winning that event. He has now added his name to the list of Tiger Woods, Ludvig Aberg, and Justin Thomas.

Other notable names, too, have registered decent performances so far. US Open champ JJ Spaun is currently at T21, whereas Ben Griffin is placed better at T8. There’s still time and three more rounds for fringe players to make their way in.