For the first time since 2021, bad weather forced a Memorial Tournament round to be halted. After an initial 1 hour and 40 minute delay, R3 was suspended at 4:34 PM. While play is expected to resume around 7:00 AM on June 7, visuals emerging out of Muirfield showed how severe the storm was and how it narrowly avoided a disaster.

A clip first posted by Joe Nugent of Columbus’ NBC4 showed the storm was fierce enough to topple a TV tower near the 10th green. Play, Nugent reported, had been halted about half an hour before the blow hit, giving everyone enough “time to seek shelter.” Aaron Rai and Alex Fitzpatrick were on the 10th green when the round was suspended. So far, there are no reported injuries, and tournament organizers deserve a lot of credit for that.

Several hours of daylight remained when they decided to suspend the round, and the course was quickly evacuated. In a video by WBNS 10TV, large number of fans are seen taking shelter in a pro shop. In retrospect, the suspension surely sounds like a prudent decision even though it would mean a few players have to play the entire back nine of the third round along with 18 holes of the final round on Sunday. The tournament organizers later offered a clearer picture of when the fourth round could be started, and more videos emerged that showed ground crew at work.

Speaking to the WBNS 10TV, the Memorial Tournament executive director, Dan Sullivan, stated, “I think generally it’s fine, but there’s definitely temporary structures that are down. There’s material all over the place… All that stuff needs to be paid attention to—so, all that will just take time and energy to get through.”

Sullivan also revealed that the team would work overnight to fix the greens and the bunkers and clean up the course so it would be ready to resume play the next morning. True to his words, in an update shared by Adam King of 10TV, the ground crew was seen working on the course, clearing out the fallen trees and the collapsed tower.

This isn’t a first on the PGA Tour, though. Ahead of the now-defunct Greenbrier Classic in 2012, a powerful storm toppled some fifty 200-year-old trees. A massive sycamore crashed onto the 16th green and smashed a corporate skybox, while several other skyboxes, spectator areas, and camera towers were also wrecked.

As per weather reports from WBNS 10TV, the midday squall on Saturday whipped up winds that caused damage in parts of the area. Evening storms delivered a second round of wind damage across central Ohio. Most of the damage was to trees and power lines, with some hail reported. It is also said that the worst is already over.

When play was halted, a handful of golfers were yet to finish their front nine. Meanwhile, as per an update from the PGA Tour, round three is slated to restart at around 7:30 AM local time, with the final round to follow in threesomes off the first and 10th tees at approximately 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM. But can Muirfield keep up?

After all, the amount of water the course was hit with could turn it soggy and unplayable. Players have already accepted that each shot is a battle. Ryan Gerard called it a “monster.”

On the other hand, the PGA Tour hasn’t yet announced if preferred lies would be in play for the upcoming round(s), though the Tour has taken similar decisions this season. Here’s what the leaderboard looks like right now.

J.T. Poston is strong en route to his 4th PGA Tour win

Through the rain-interrupted third round, J.T. Poston and Ryan Gerard sit solo atop the leaderboard at nine under. The leaders had only finished five holes before the weather forced a pause and then suspension. They are one shot ahead of Sam Burns, who is solo third.

However, the break is likely to affect Poston, who is chasing a fourth Tour victory. He will have to face a long Sunday to make up for the delay and then play the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier on Monday.

Meanwhile, both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler are eight shots off and tied with Xander Schauffele for 12th at one-under. McIlroy could only complete 16 holes, and Scheffler only finished 14 holes.

Meanwhile, Poston has a lot at stake here. A win (or a runner-up finish) would propel him to the top 60 in the world ranking, making it possible to get into the U.S. Open. So, good luck to him.