How one hole forced the PGA Tour to cancel the 1996 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the first time in nearly half a century
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The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has long been a staple of the golf season, but there have been times when weather has taken centre stage over the action itself. The 2024 edition is just one example, as it was cut down to 54 holes because of poor conditions.
There have actually been four instances in the last three decades where the tournament hasn’t gone the full four rounds. And in one case, things didn’t even reach that far, with play called off after just two rounds and no winner named.
That year saw every professional in the field given $5,000 for their time. The main issue came down to a single hole across the event’s three courses.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was called off after just two rounds in 1996
It’s worth sparing a thought for Jeff Maggert. The three-time Ryder Cup player finished second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am twice, including in 1994 when he was among several players trailing Johnny Miller by just one shot.
Maggert was leading by one at the halfway point in 1996, but the tournament never made it to round three. Heavy rain left so much standing water on the 16th hole at Spyglass Hill that organisers had no choice but to call things off.
Back then, players would play one round each at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills before returning to Pebble for the final round.
The fairway on the 16th at Spyglass was so flooded that players would have been forced to take relief some 40 yards away – and deep into the trees. It simply wasn’t playable.
Other parts of the course were also struggling with flooding, but according to the Los Angeles Times, it was specifically conditions on No.16 that led to the decision to call off play entirely.
The last time a PGA Tour event was called off mid-tournament
It marked the first time a PGA Tour event had been cancelled after play had already begun. And you’d have to go back almost half a century for an outright cancellation prior to that. In 1949, severe flooding hit Fort Worth ahead of Colonial.
Even with parts of the course underwater initially hoping play could still go ahead until six days before tee-off when rising death tolls and widespread displacement across Fort Worth made proceeding impossible. Ten lives lost and thousands forced from their homes put any thoughts of golf into perspective.
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