With rain halting play for nearly three hours Saturday morning at the Wyndham Championship, several players in this week's field remain eager to begin their third rounds at Sedgefield Country Club. Despite playing his way into contention through 36 holes, though, Charles Howell III is not among them.
The PGA Tour announced Saturday that Howell had been disqualified from this week's field in Greensboro under Rule 4-1/a for playing with a non-conforming club during Friday's second round.
According to a News & Record report, Howell played the round with a damaged driver, as a dial on the bottom of the club head had fallen off during his warm-up session on the driving range. Howell reportedly inquired about it following the round, in which he shot a 2-under 68, and the Tour made the disqualification known the following day.
Late Saturday morning, the Tour released an official explanation offering details on the disqualification.
"The issue centered on a weight port cover near the toe on the bottom of Howell's TaylorMade driver that came off while he was hitting balls prior to the second round," the statement read in part. "There is a hole under the cover that is used to put hot wax in, and without the cover, the driver has a hole in it which makes it non-conforming."
It's a costly decision for Howell, who at 6-under 134 was tied for 10th through two rounds, five shots off the overnight lead of Patrick Reed. He was in position to bolster his FedEx Cup standing heading into the playoffs, where he currently sits in 26th position, as well as his world ranking, which has fallen to 83rd after he reached as high as 54th in the world in April. Instead, the two-time Tour winner will receive no points on either front for his efforts in Greensboro and now has five days to resolve his driver situation before teeing it up at The Barclays on Thursday.