The weather wasn’t quite the story it was for the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, but Friday it still kept a lid on some of the skybox seats surrounding the 17th and 18th greens.
The tradewinds swept across the Waialae Country Club, with gusts topping out at 50 mph on Thursday on the closing hole, but conditions were a little more sedate in the second round, just not enough to open all the skyboxes. Position as it was related to the wind had a lot to do in the decision making.
>> PHOTOS: Day 2 of Sony Open at Waialae Country Club
“Based on the strong wind conditions, we have our tent vendors check things every couple of hours in these types of windy conditions,” Sony Open tournament director Ray Stosik said Friday. “On Thursday they notified us that four of our higher skyboxes were in a danger level. At that time, we made an immediate decision to vacate those boxes for safety reasons.”
Skyboxes providing elevated views of the 17th and 18th greens for guests of the respective companies were closed Thursday amid high winds around 30 mph and gusts up to 40 mph out on the exposed par-3 17th. The Star-Advertiser and Pasha Hawaii boxes remained closed Friday and relocated to tents on the ground. The same arrangement was made on the 18th hole for the Sony and First Hawaiian Bank skyboxes. Like those on the 17th, they were too high off the ground in this strong wind.
Standard bearers, who follow the groups with signs displaying the players’ scores, were not used Thursday afternoon and again Friday. In addition to the wind, intermittent rain kept the caddies scrambling for umbrellas to keep the players and the golf clubs dry. There were a couple of muddy patches golf fans had to dodge if they followed their favorite golfers from tee to green, but for the most part, the golf course is in good condition considering the elements it has faced.
The weekend weather forecast calls for a break from the high winds. There is a 70 percent chance of rain for Honolulu today and Sunday, with tradewinds blowing in the 10-15 mph range. That’s down from 25-30 that plagued fans and golfers the first two days.
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