AT&T National To Be Played Without Fans, Volunteers; More Violent Storms Possible

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Rex Hoggard with the update, including split tees at 1 p.m. ET and the decision to keep fans and volunteers away.

According to the Tour’s meteorologist the storm, which began on Friday near Chicago, produced “derecho” winds that gusted to 70 mph around Congressional and had the potential to do tornado-like damage.

The storm arrived at about 10:30 p.m. and lasted just 45 minutes and produced 3/10ths of an inch of rain but the damage to Congressional and the surrounding area was substantial with more than 40 fallen trees at the course. Much of the area, including Congressional’s clubhouse, remained without power.

Russell said the Tour plans to evaluate whether it would be safe to allow fans to attend Sunday’s final round and he still had not determined if any “local rules” would be used on Saturday.

Ryan Ballengee posted some photos of the tree damage on his Facebook page.

Many of the same areas affected on Friday may have to endure yet another round of gusty thunderstorms later today, perhaps even another "derecho" event, according to this Accuweather forecaster.

Congressional Assaulted By Violent Storm

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From the sounds of tournament director Greg McLaughlin's Tweet along with chatter from many others staying near the course and reporting power outages, AT&T National host site Congressional has been hit by a storm of Biblical proportions.

McLaughlin wrote:

Wind blew down countless trees at Congo. Came back at 10p and 3 trees uprooted block main drive. Had to climb over to get to club.

Reuters is reporting a gust at 79 mph.

The Washington Post reports power outages for a million customers, which will not help in coping with Saturday's forecasted heat where some forecasters are suggesting a heat index of up to 110.

So Far, So Good With The Portrush Audition

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Alistair Tait, reporting from the Irish Open at Royal Portrush where the Open Championship has not been played since 1951, says the players are giving the course rave reviews despite facing an unusually soft links due to heavy rains.

“It would be great for an Open Championship,” two time Open champion Padraig Harrington said. “It’s awesome. It is a joy to play this golf course. It’s got a lot of testing golf shots on it but it also gives you something when you hit a good shot.”

Anyone who questioned whether or not the Northern Irish would support big time golf only had to turn up at Portrush to find the answer. It is a resounding yes. But that’s always been the case. They turned up in thousands when the 2007 Walker Cup was played at Royal County Down. And that was before the economic downturn.

“For the crowds to turn out in the middle of a recession, pay big money like they are paying makes me proud to be Irish,” Paul McGinley said. “We go to a lot of countries around the world, a lot wealthier than Ireland and not going through the economic downturn that we are in, and yet we have record sell outs here.”

Tait also says the R&A has been present, scouting out the logistics. Let's hope the low scoring is not a deterrent.

"The PGA Tour’s expanding schedule might shrink one invaluable opportunity for its members."

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Scott Michaux makes a strong case for the PGA Tour's new calendar year schedule putting the folks at Augusta National in an awkward position, reminding us how much Chairman Billy Payne appreciates the win-and-you're-in status of PGA Tour events. They have time to decide whether to invite all PGA Tour event winners into the Masters, but it's hard to see the Masters going to split tees to accommodate the new-look schedule.

16-Year-Old Posts Two Course Record 61's In A Week

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Thanks to reader David for Bill Nichols' Dallas Morning News item on Scottie Scheffler posted course records at Northwood Club and Dallas Country Club.

Playing with friends on his birthday last Thursday, Scheffler shot 10-under 61 at Northwood, breaking the course record held by Hunter Mahan. This came exactly one week after Northwood celebrated the 60th anniversary of hosting the 1952 U.S. Open.

At least Scheffler paid homage, sort of, to Open champ Julius Boros by taking only eight putts on the back nine. In 1952 Boros had 11 putts on the back nine in the morning round then one-putted seven of the final nine greens in the afternoon.

Nichols goes on to detail the course record-tying round at Northwood and talks to instructor Randy Smith about his student.

Parliament Hounding One Of Tournament Golf's Most Visible CEO's

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Bob Diamond, Barclays CEO, is under increasing heat a day after his British bank agreed to pay more than $450 million to settle accusations that it attempted to manipulate interest rates.

The good news? This year's Scottish Open is no longer a Barclays-sponsored event. Barclays remains sponsor of a PGA Tour playoff and Phil Mickelson.

Mark Scott reports.