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Mood is somber at Annandale Associated Press October 27 4:28pm ET | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MADISON, Miss. -- PGA Tour players at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic went through with their practice routine Tuesday, minus the fun-loving spirit that usually goes along with it.
Despite a nearly picture-perfect day for golf, a somber mood hung over Annadale Golf Club in the wake of U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart's death in a plane crash a day earlier. "We are all like a traveling gypsy clan out here," Blaine McCallister said. "In our lockerroom there's usually a jovial talk and all that. It's not like that right now. It's a very somber moment." Making the turn during a practice round he played alone, Kevin Sutherland said the tragedy had put things in perspective for many of the tour players. "What it does is make you know what is really important," Sutherland said. "Golf just really isn't all that important. It's what we do, but it's just not that important. It's going to be a strain, it's going to be a tough week to play golf." Like the Tour Championship in Houston, the Southern Farm Bureau Classic will suspend play Friday, the day a memorial service is scheduled for Stewart in Orlando, Fla. The PGA Tour is arranging a charter flight for players who want to fly from Mississippi to attend the service. Southern Farm Bureau officials also planned a memorial Thursday night at a church in Jackson. While the Tour Championship is planning two 27-hole rounds to make up for the suspension of play Friday, the Southern Farm Bureau will be shortened to 54 holes. "The Tour Championship, they have a little flexibility we don't have and that's numbers," PGA Tour official Arvin Ginn said. "Daylight doesn't provide us any flexibility. Friday is a lost day. We are losing a day in honor of Payne Stewart." A 132-player field will play at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, as opposed to 29 top players at the Tour Championship. Tournament officials had originally planned to extend the tournament to Monday, but decided later against that because of many factors. Several players at the Southern Farm Bureau could be involved in events next week. The second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying begins Tuesday at four different sites and the third World Golf Championship event is next week in Spain. A pro-am scheduled Wednesday and Thursday's first round at Annandale will be played as planned. The second round and the cut will be made Saturday, and the final round will be played Sunday. Paul Stankowski agreed with the suspension of play Friday, and like most of the players, agreed with the decision to shorten rather than extend the Southern Farm Bureau. "The Friday issue is great, just out of respect for Payne," said Stankowski, who plans to attend the memorial service in Jackson. Eric Booker, who played collegiately at Mississippi State, agreed it was an awkward situation. "There are a lot of people that the tour wants to please, and it can't please everybody," Booker said. "I'll just go with the flow and play with whatever decision they have." Several players who had committed to play never made it to Annandale, and had officially withdrawn from the tournament by Tuesday. Among them were Scott Hoch and Rocco Mediate, friends of Stewart and two of the highest ranked players in the field.
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Players try to cope with Stewart's death Stakes high for players in Mississippi
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