PGA Tour announcement met with anger: "You can't make this stuff up"

PGA Tour fans appear to be up in arms after the North American circuit announced the first round of the Wyndham Championship will be played without spectators. 

The final event of the Tour's regular season, at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina, was due to begin on Thursday. 

But Tropical Storm Debby is closing in, meaning that the course is unsafe for spectators to follow the action. 

UPDATE: WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP WASHED OUT DUE TO STORM DEBBY

Up to eight inches of rain are expected in the area over the first two days, with wind gusts that could reportedly reach 25-30mph. 

In a statement, tournament director Bobby Powell said: "This decision was a difficult one for us to make with our partners at the PGA Tour, but everyone's safety is our top priority."

Competitors were scheduled to start play at 6.50am ET, but on Thursday morning the Tour announced play would be delayed for eight hours. 

That was after the National Weather Service issued a mass push notification which said: "This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation.

"Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order."

This is not the first time this season a PGA Tour event has been affected by inclement weather. 

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was reduced to 54 holes and the RBC Heritage was forced into a Monday finish. 

Some on X accused the Tour of not properly planning ahead and believed they should have postponed the start until fans were allowed in. 

"Zero chance they get in any golf tomorrow," one X user wrote.

"The PGA Tour has zero concept of planning ahead."

Another added: "You can't make this stuff up."

This person wrote: "Postpone the start you dolts!"

Another added: "This is a typical weak decision from the PGA Tour. 

"Call the golf off while you're at it, we can't risk the little snowflakes getting wet."

'Everyone wants us to make a decision now for tomorrow' 

The PGA Tour's chief tournament referee, Ken Tackett, spoke to GD about the unfolding situation. 

Speaking on Wednesday, Tackett told the publication: "I know everyone wants us to make a decision now for tomorrow, but having the experience of doing this, having dealt with rain and inclement weather, you do have to just wait and see what Mother Nature brings. 

"It's a little different than what we dealt with at Pebble earlier in the season, when we knew there were winds forecasted into 60 mph and trees down. Those conditions are a little different. 

"Here, we're seeing 20 to 25 mph winds with some gusts up to 30 mph. Definitely significant, but nothing that would cause us to stop. We play through those types of conditions all the time."

Tackett added he was confident that the Wyndham Championship will be concluded by Monday at the latest. 

He didn't rule out the possibility that it could be finished on Tuesday morning. 

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