Early Start Today May Beat Rain

The weather forecast for this afternoon is for thunderstorms and heavy rain, so the fourth round of the Bay Hill Invitational is getting a head start to try to finish the tournament on time.

Instead of sending out the players in groups of two, a 1 p.m. EST tee time for the leaders and a 6 p.m. finish, the 79-player field will play in threesomes and use both the first and 10th tees. Leader Tiger Woods’ group has the last tee time, at 9:48 a.m.

If all goes well, the schedule calls for a 3 p.m. EST finish, which is expected to beat the rain.

However, NBC will carry the last round on tape delay, which does not alter its normal broadcast time in Los Angeles, from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., according to Kevin Sullivan of NBC.

If coverage of the war pre-empts the golf on NBC, it will be switched to CNBC.