The 144-player tournament is scheduled to begin today at Indian Summer Golf and Country Club, weather permitting.
"Unfortunately, the rain has made the course unplayable," Mark Wilson, rules chairman for the tournament, said Thursday.
Puddles, not just the rain, postponed the $150,000 event.
"If the course was playable, we'd be playing in the rain," Wilson said.
With rain in the forecast for the next three days, it seems inevitable.
"Some guys were questioning the wiseness of having the tournament here," said Carlton Blewett, a qualifier from Phoenix. "It was 90 in Phoenix yesterday."
Blewett arrived Monday and played a practice round Tuesday in the rain.
"I figured I might as well get used to it," he said.
The scheduled 72-hole tournament and national qualifier could be pared to 36 holes. They have until Monday to squeeze in the tournament.
"Whatever they decide, I'm here to play, or attempt to play," said Bob Blean, also a qualifier from Phoenix. "I've been watching the weather report for up here for the past three weeks."
Blean played in the Nike Tour at Indian Summer in 1997, the last year that tournament was held in South Sound. There were rain delays in both years the Nike Tour was played in Olympia during the first week of October.
"It's frustrating," Blean said about Thursday's delay. "It's a big tournament. We're ready to play."
Play is scheduled to begin at 7:55 a.m this morning. A cut to the top 70 golfers will be made after the second round and the top 32 finishers in the tournament advance to the championship in Nashport, Ohio, June 24-27.
Course conditions today will determine if there will be another delay.
"We want it to be fair," said Scott Cain, tournament director. "The first player has the right to decent conditions just as much as the last guy."
This is the first time the regional qualifier has been played in Washington. The tournament, based on a rotation, has been in Utah, Southern California, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas. This is only the second weather delay.
"We have 144 guys who paid a lot of money to get here," Cain said. "So, we're going to do our best to get this in."
Moving the tournament to a dryer, warmer climate isn't an option.
"It's not that easy," Cain said. "We can't simply say 'let's pack up and move to Palm Springs.' Changing golf sites at this late a date involves a lot of variables."
- What: Western PGA Club Professional Championship.
- When: Today through Sunday, tee times at 7:55 a.m.
- Where: Indian Summer Golf & Country Club in Olympia.
- If you go: Championship open to general public, free of charge.
- Format: Championship has 144-player field, with the low 70 scorers and ties after 36 holes competing for a total purse of $150,000. First place prize money is $20,000.
- Reward: Low 32 advance to the 37th PGA Club Professional Championship, June 24-27, 2004, at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio.