One shot, then Simpson is done for the day
US Open champion Webb Simpson could only smile after hitting just one shot before play was suspended because of snow in the opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Arizona, on Wednesday.
"It was a good day, man," American Simpson jested to reporters, having left the course after teeing off at the par-four first in his match against Britain's David Lynn.
"I hit one shot and then they blew the horn. We had an official there and they were trying to figure out if they were going to blow it.
"I guess they couldn't tell if it was going to be for a brief moment or for a long time. They called us back, so we went and marked our balls and came in."
With a blanket of almost two inches of snow covering Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, play was eventually abandoned for the day after officials had waited two hours to assess conditions.
Asked if he had ever experienced similar conditions in a tournament, Simpson replied with a grin: "Not as a professional.
"I remember one year in Vegas in a collegiate tournament it was sleeting. We all charged toboggans to our coach in the pro shop, and he wasn't happy about it."
"Hopefully the snow will melt tonight."
Simpson, making only his second appearance at the Match Play Championship after losing in the first round last year, felt the one-on-one format of the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event helped players cope more easily with weather delays.
"You just have got to go with it, especially in a match play tournament," said the 27-year-old, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour.
"Every day you could be going home or going to the next round, so I think everything is just kind of a little more laid back here in just knowing anything could happen."
