Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
A winter storm moved in over Arizona on Wednesday and by Thursday morning, the green fairways at Tucson National Golf Club, host venue for the 2023 Cologuard Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, were blanketed white with snow.
The golf course sits at about 2,300-foot elevation. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory Wednesday evening that said the Tucson area was likely to get 1-to-3 inches of snow, with areas above 6,000 feet likely to get as much as 16 inches.
“It’s pretty, very pretty. Holy cow, the mountains look beautiful,” said Steve Stricker, who held his pre-tournament news conference just after lunch Thursday. “It doesn’t look so good on the golf course when you’re trying to play. But at least we’re getting out there today, we’ll see some of it somehow, either par 3, scramble or play nine holes. Yeah, it was something different to wake up to, for sure.”
The pro-ams scheduled for Thursday were adjusted to nine holes, starting at noon and 3 p.m. local time (2 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET).
I believe we have a slight delay this morning at the @CologuardGolf 😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/WFM36TiNLE
— Jerry Kelly (@jerrykelly13pga) March 2, 2023
The start of the tournament’s first round on Friday is expected to begin as scheduled, with the first tee time at 10:08 a.m. local time.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had two aces a year in the event, is the defending champion.
Bernhard Langer, tied for most PGA Tour Champions wins with 45, can break the record long held by Hale Irwin if he wins the 54-hole event Sunday.