Paula Creamer had a four-inch par putt left to finish off a 4-under 67 before the siren blew Friday to signal a second weather delay during the opening round of the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club.
A total of 12 threesomes had completed their first round, which included two weather delays totaling four hours. Creamer had just missed her birdie attempt on 18 and was preparing to tap in for par when the horn blared for the second delay.
"It is what it is," said Creamer, who eventually finished her round nearly nine hours after it started. "Well, it's that time of the year. It's summer time. It's what happens. You just have to be ready to play in the rain, be ready for some stop and go."
Play was suspended for the first time at 11:25 a.m. and resumed two hours later, forcing two hours of the Golf Channel's live three-hour coverage to center on early highlights and include about 10 interviews inside the clubhouse of a crowded Pinnacle Country Club. Play resumed as the network was leaving the air.
"It wouldn't be the Northwest Arkansas Championship without a rain delay," Morgan Pressel told the Golf Channel during the first break.
Pressel was nearly dead-on with that assessment. The first LPGA tournament at Pinnacle Country Club in 2007 turned into a one-day event when rain washed out the final two rounds. Stacy Lewis, an amateur at the time playing for the University of Arkansas, was recognized as the unofficial winner.
Play was suspended in the first round of the 2008 tournament, but all three rounds were completed. Rain plagued the Thursday pro-ams in 2009 and 2010, but the tournament went off without any weather-related issues. In 2011 and 2012, there were no delays, but a constant rain plagued the 2013 Monday qualifier.
Last year rain washed out the Wednesday pro-am before postponing the finish of Saturday's afternoon groups, who had to come back early Sunday morning before the 36-hole cut could be made and the final round could commence.
Friday's delays were just as frustrating.
"It was hard to get anything going," said Inbee Park, the World's No. 1-ranked player who was caught on the 17th hole during a delay and finished with a 2-under 69. "It's especially tough coming out in the morning then getting stuck out here.
"It's obviously disappointing, but what can you do? I had my fingers crossed to just have 15 minutes to finish."
There were a total of 72 players on the course when play was suspended at 8:38 p.m. They will finish their first round this morning before the second round begins.
Arkansas advantage
The University of Arkansas women's golf program has received plenty of free exposure this week at the LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship.
It helps that three of its own are entered. Stacy Lewis is back to try to defend her championship, returning lettermen Gaby Lopez received a sponsor's exemption, and Samantha Marks played her way in by winning Monday's qualifier.
Arkansas Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor's team received an added boost Friday when the Golf Channel devoted a chunk of its coverage during a two-hour weather delay to the successes of those three and the benefits of again having the tournament just up the road from the university.
"This is a coach's dream having an LPGA Tournament in your back yard," Estes-Taylor said after watching Marks hit a tee shot stiff on the par-3 15th. "You're always looking for something to separate yourself from other programs, and you can't ask for anything more than this."
The Razorbacks wrapped up their 2015 season by finishing third in the NCAA Utah Regional and ninth in the NCAA Championship. Lopez finished runner-up at the NCAA final in Bradenton, Fla., and qualified afterward for the U.S. Open.
Estes-Taylor said the Northwest Arkansas Championship gets the attention of key recruits like Lopez who want to further their career after college.
"The goal is to always win championships," Estes-Taylor said. "You want to get young girls in here with the goal of taking their game to the next level.
"We feel we have something good here."
Tickled pink
Tournament officials have been billing the par-3 17th hole at Pinnacle Country Club as the loudest hole in women's golf since 2013.
Typically Fridays have not been the rowdiest of days at the tournament, although the past two years Saturdays and Sundays have brought more energy. That was particularly true in 2014 when Stacy Lewis used the hole as a springboard to a dramatic birdie finish on the 18th hole Sunday to win the tournament for the first time.
The crowd had its energy drained Friday because of two weather interruptions that combined to delay the tournament four hours. There were Hog calls when current Razorbacks Gaby Lopez and Samantha Marks came through and loud cheers when birdie putts found the cup at the tough back-right location.
Its finest moment Friday may have been when Paula Creamer, nicknamed the Pink Panther because of her fondness for the color, was greeted with the humming of the cartoon's theme song.
"Pretty cool," Creamer said.
Sports on 06/27/2015