GALE-FORCE WINDS HALT FUTURES TOUR EVENT
IN TEXAS: MONDAY FINISH POSSIBLE

EL PASO, Texas, May 5, 2007 – For the first time in the history of the Duramed FUTURES Tour, play was suspended due to high winds.
And while high wind always is expected each spring in this Western tip of Texas, winds reached a point where flagsticks were blowing out of holes and stationary golf balls were blowing off greens during today’s second round of the $80,000 El Paso Golf Classic. In one situation, the key in the ignition of a golf cart driven by a rules official was blown to the stop position, nearly throwing the official through the windshield of the cart.
“We had to decide, at what point, was the wind making the course unplayable?” said Christy Barks, director of tournament operations for the Tour. “In some cases, with large dust clouds blowing across the golf course, it also became unsafe.”
High winds pummeled the Sunrise Course at the Underwood Golf Complex during Friday’s first round, but the difference in wind power in Friday’s round and today’s second round was about 20 mph, said Barks. Play was suspended today at 1:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Forty-four players completed second-round play, while 97 players will return to the course on Sunday at 7 a.m., to complete the second round.
Among those players who did not start the second round was first-round leader Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif. For Martin, the weather suspension was a stroke of serendipity. The Californian showed up at the course to play today after having spent the morning hooked up to an IV bag at a local hospital for dehydration. She was treated and released for a gastrointestinal infection.
“I was warming up and my feeling was, if I can walk, I’m playing,” said Martin, a second-year pro out of UCLA who began experiencing stomach problems Friday afternoon. “I was prepared to play today, but I can’t say I wasn’t happy [when play was suspended]. Right now, I’m on a liquid diet, so playing 36 holes tomorrow is going to have its challenges. I’ll just rest and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Head rules official Kelly Wergin said suspending play due to wind is much more subjective than calling play for lightning or excessive water on the course. But today’s high wind and the day’s forecast caused Tour staff members to begin discussions before play even began. Friday’s wind was sustained between 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 31 mph. As today’s second round continued, sustaining winds of up to 35 mph blew with gusts from 44-50 mph, she said.
“We had one situation where a ball on a green that was at rest blew all the way across the green,” said Wergin. “By the rules of golf, if the player has not addressed the ball on the putting green and the wind moves the ball, the ball is played from its new location.”
Three weeks ago in Hilton Head Island, S.C., the PGA Tour also suspended play due to high wind and completed the final round on a Monday.
Play may extend into Monday at this week’s El Paso Golf Classic if the final round cannot be completed by sunset on Sunday. The goal is to complete 54 holes at the sixth annual event.
“If pace of play goes well for the completion of the second round and throughout the final round, we have the capability to finish on Sunday,” said Barks. “That’s the goal.”
For scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Partly cloudy with a high temperature of 80 degrees with wind around 31 mph and gusts up to 44 mph.
+Vikki Laing had a 75 and Brenda McLarnon from Belfast a 78 in the first round of the El Paso Classic.