Winter sunsets have always been an unwelcome guest at Florida PGA Tour events, especially when 144 professionals are navigating challenging layouts like PGA National’s Champion Course. The battle against fading daylight became a talking point yet again as the final group at the 2025 Cognizant Classic found themselves racing the setting sun to complete their opening rounds.
The PGA Tour Communications office clarified the situation with a tweet that caught attention for its unusual circumstances: “All three players in the final group teed off on their final hole (No. 9) before the horn was sounded to suspend play at 6:23 p.m. ET due to darkness, giving them the option to complete the hole. They did. All 144 players completed round one.” This marked a rare case where a suspension was called while simultaneously ensuring all competitors finished their rounds.
The natural constraints of daylight at the Champion Course caused the suspension, not deteriorating weather. Several factors contributed to the tight finish: the tournament’s late February timing with shorter daylight hours, the full 144-player field requiring extended tee time intervals, and the course’s demanding layout slowing play, particularly around the notorious Bear Trap (holes 15-17). Additionally, residual moisture from pre-tournament showers added 10-15 minutes per group due to casual water rulings, further tightening the daylight window.
Defending champion Austin Eckroat was among those in the final group racing against twilight, impressively managing to close with a birdie on the 9th hole despite the challenging light conditions. The morning wave clearly benefited from the conditions, none more so than Jake Knapp, who made history with a bogey-free 12-under 59, becoming just the 15th player in PGA Tour history to break 60. Knapp’s morning tee time allowed him to take advantage of calm conditions with minimal wind and soft greens, avoiding the daylight constraints entirely. Other early starters like Rory McIlroy and Chris Kirk completed their rounds without incident, while several top-ranked players in the afternoon wave—including Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele—had to navigate the course’s most challenging stretch as shadows lengthened across the Champion Course.
All three players in the final group teed off on their final hole (No. 9) before the horn was sounded to suspend play at 6:23 p.m. ET due to darkness, giving them the option to complete the hole. They did. All 144 players completed round one. https://t.co/DNSGSgBxsw
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) February 27, 2025
This isn’t the first time weather and darkness have disrupted the flow of a tournament, creating unique challenges for players and officials alike.
Previous PGA Tour suspensions that altered tournament schedules
The 2024 edition of the Cognizant Classic experienced multiple suspensions, culminating in a Monday finish for the final round due to severe weather. Unlike this year, five players had to return the following morning to complete their first rounds—a logistical complication avoided in 2025.
Weather suspensions have often had significant competitive impacts in recent memory. During the 2024 RBC Heritage, lightning and subsequent darkness interrupted Scottie Scheffler’s six-stroke lead at 4:28 p.m. ET. The delay compressed the final round’s timeline, forcing a Monday finish for the remaining groups. That same year, the Wyndham Championship faced disruption from Tropical Storm Debby, which forced a first-round postponement with gusts up to 30 mph and eight inches of rain flooding greens.
The 2024 Farmers Insurance Open demonstrated how these interruptions affect players beyond just one tournament. High winds exceeding 50 mph halted play twice, with Round 2 suspended for darkness after a four-hour delay. The event’s Monday conclusion disrupted travel plans for players transitioning to the Phoenix Open, with 12 professionals ultimately withdrawing from the following week’s tournament citing fatigue.
What’s your take on how the PGA Tour should handle darkness suspensions? Should they adjust scheduling during winter tournaments to start earlier, or would reducing field sizes be a better solution to ensure rounds finish before darkness falls?
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