Feb 21, 2005 5 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Nissan Open is headed for uncharted waters. After four days at rainy Riviera Country Club, no one has played more than 37 holes. And when rain suspended play a mere 30 minutes into the third round Sunday afternoon, officials conceded the possibility that the next hole anyone plays will be a sudden-death playoff between Adam Scott and Chad Campbell.

That’s assuming they can find a hole that’s not under water.

“We’re going to make every effort to play,” PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell said. “We’re going to come back in the morning, try to finish the third round and see how it goes from there.”

Where the Nissan Open stood Sunday evening was baffling.

Campbell wound up getting the weekend off, which is golf vernacular for missing the cut. At the rain-delayed Nissan Open, that means he finished his second round Friday and hasn’t hit another shot since then, not even on the range.

Scott rarely feels a sense of urgency in the second round of any tournament, but this happened to be on a Sunday afternoon when he was one shot out of the lead, with clouds gathering on the horizon.

Scott rolled in a 20-foot birdie from the fringe on his final hole for a 5-under 66 in a second round that took him three days to complete. It put him at 9-under 133, tied with Campbell.

What happens next depends on the weather.

The forecast is for heavy rain overnight and throughout Monday, and Russell said Riviera is at the point where any rain will flood fairways and bunkers.

Players are to return today at 7:30 a.m. – only 12 of the 75 who made the cut teed off in the third round – and hope the forecast is wrong. The goal is to at least complete 54 holes so it becomes an official tournament.

Otherwise, it could revert to a 36-hole tournament, the winner decided by a playoff.

The last time that happened was the 2000 BellSouth Classic, when the final round was washed out. Phil Mickelson and Gary Nicklaus went to the par-3 16th hole, where Mickelson made birdie to win.

PGA Tour events must be at least 54 holes to be considered official. And if more than half of the field finishes the third round Monday before more rain arrives, the tournament could carry over into Tuesday.

And if it rains Tuesday?

“That would be a decision for the commissioner,” Russell said.

“We are getting into waters here that I can never remember us being in.”

All that mattered Sunday was getting to at least 9 under par to catch Campbell.

Needing a birdie on the 18th hole, Darren Clarke hit a 4-iron so pure that it sailed over the flag and over the green, and he had to make a testy 6-footer to save par for a 68 that left him at 8-under 134, along with Brian Davis (69).

Woods was only two shots behind until he butchered the 18th. From the right rough, he tried to play a fade around the trees, but the ball plugged into the left side of the hill framing the green. He flopped his pitch to 8 feet, and then three-putted for a double bogey that gave him a 70, leaving him four shots behind.

Woods’ only hope to replace Vijay Singh at No. 1 in the world is for the third round to be completed, and for him to finish no worse than fourth. He was in a tie for 13th after two rounds.

Other players have an even greater reason to keep going.

“I’m one behind,” Clarke said. “I want to play.”

No one wanted to play more than Colin Montgomerie. Winless on the PGA Tour, Monty surged into contention with a 7-under 64, chipping in for eagle on the short par-4 10th and finishing his round off with a birdie to pull within two shots. J.L. Lewis had a 65 and also was at 135.

“A third round will be a bonus, but it’s odds-on with the forecast that we won’t finish,” Montgomerie said. “That’s, OK, though. I started out this year with a 65 in my first two events, and I’ve had a 64 here. Things are brightening up for me.”

The same can’t be said for the skies over Riviera.

Divots: David Duval shot 76 to miss the cut by eight shots. But he played on Sunday for the first time this year, and he cashed his first check. Duval’s pro-am team finished second, earning him $1,600. … Jeff Sluman had back-to-back pars from unusual spots. He sailed over the fifth green and onto the tee box at No. 6, then had to play a chip that went up the slope, but under a large tree. He knocked it to 3 feet. Then on the par-3 sixth, his tee shot was on the right side of the bunker in the middle of the green, with the flag to the left. He played it perfectly to about 2 feet for par in his round of 71 that left him at 2-under 140. … The Nissan Open has been contested over 72 holes all but once in its 79-year history.