It’s Tour Forecaster’s Job to Try to Beat the System
OK, so Willis Young was wrong. What did you expect? He is a weatherman, after all.
Young is the official meteorologist for the Nissan Open this week at Riviera Country Club. He is one of four full-time Weather Channel meteorologists employed by the PGA Tour to make weather forecasts during each stop on the PGA, Senior PGA and Buy.com tours.
He predicted rain for all day Friday. After early showers, the rains never came back.
That doesn’t mean his prediction wasn’t taken seriously.
Tour officials readied the air horns that signal a suspension and altered pin positions to avoid low parts of the greens.
And though clear blue skies prevailed by late afternoon, the constantly changing weather systems caused concern most of the day.
“I’m in constant communication with the rules officials,” Young said. “They want to know when it is going to rain, how long it’s going to rain and how much it’s going to rain, and I have to tell them.”
Tournament director Mark Russell makes the final decision on suspending play. He said the information he gets from Young is paramount in making the decision.
“[The meteorologists] can become the focal point of the tournament real fast--and they often do,” Russell said. “In this game, we are dependent on the weather.”
The tour added professional meteorologists to its staff in 1996. Before that, tournament officials would call the National Weather Service or a local television station for updates.
None compared to having someone on site with equipment tailored to monitor the area immediately around the course.
“The weather service monitors the entire Los Angeles area,” Young said. “I forecast for what’s going to happen at this specific location.”
Patches of rain surrounded Riviera most of Friday and areas 10 miles from the course got soaked. Young said that on days with cold air, low-pressure systems and partial cloud cover, rain can develop quickly and unpredictably. Friday was such a day.
“It can go from a speck on the radar screen to a full-fledged downpour in 15 minutes,” Young said. “Days like today, I’m constantly glued to the radar screen.”
At 6 a.m. Friday, Young guessed that play might be suspended before the end of the day. At 7 a.m., when the first groups teed off, he officially forecast a quarter to half an inch of rain--enough to flood the greens.
By 9:30 a.m., about the time tournament co-leader Davis Love III made the turn, the storm started to break up and Young changed his forecast to mostly cloudy skies for the remainder of the day.
At noon, about 20 minutes before Tiger Woods teed off, an area of low pressure near Point Conception concerned Young and he predicted scattered showers.
At 3:30 p.m., when the final groups of the day were making the turn, the threat had died down and Young said there would be no more rain.
Young’s forecast for today is increasing clouds with showers developing toward evening. That, of course, is subject to change.
Walk of shameless promotion: Fans entering the tournament through Riviera’s main entrance should be prepared for a barrage of sales pitches.
It begins with a display of automobiles and includes health screenings, free samples of aspirin, shampoo and body wash, free granola bars and a place to apply for a credit card.
The highlight of the entry way is the Cascades Golf Course booth, where you fill out a form, spin a wheel and can win discounted or free golf at the Sylmar course.
Where’s the ATM? Free golf may be a requirement for those attending the tournament. After spending $5 on a shuttle to get to the course from the Veterans Administration hospital parking lot, paying $20 for a daily ticket and visiting a snack stand where hot dogs are $4, turkey sandwiches are $6 and bottle of water is $3, who can afford a round of golf?
(The ATM is conveniently located near the main entrance.)