FedEx Cup primed for Hurrican Earl
Friday, 3 September 2010 08:47The second event of the FedEx Cup play-off series is bracing itself for the possibility of disruption caused by Hurricane Earl.
Tee-off times in the opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston were brought forward and precautions were being taken to avoid damage if the hurricane hit.
'We're going to come in and we're going to play all we can,' said US Tour official Mark Russell.
'Hopefully Earl will slow down and we'll get finished. If we can't, we've just got to play it by ear, get the players off, get the spectators to take shelter and see what happens
'We can play in a little wind and a little rain, but the lightning is what's going to put us out of business.'
The storm was a category-four hurricane early yesterday with winds of 140 mph, but had been downgraded to category three with winds of 125 by mid-afternoon.
'Once we get to the early afternoon time frame, we will definitely start getting some of the outer bands of Earl and so we'll get some showers and some brief gusty winds,' said meteorologist Steve Williams.
The forecast might mean an advantage for those with early tee times, including Scot Martin Laird, who lost a play-off to Matt Kuchar in the first of the series last weekend, Rory McIlroy and England's Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.
The later starters included Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington.
The hurricane is expected to pass the area by the early hours on Saturday.
'We aren't going to take any chances,' added Russell. 'A category-two hurricane is serious business. It can blow trees down and do a lot of damage.
'We want to give people time to get home and take shelter. If this thing goes more to the west it could be very serious. Hopefully it will slow down and go east of here.'
