Web.com Tour Championship canceled as Hurricane Matthew threatens

The Web.com Tour Finals were set to conclude this week. (Getty Images)

The Web.com Tour Finals and season came to an abrupt conclusion on Wednesday, when the tour announced it was canceling this week’s Web.com Tour Championship in Atlantic Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Matthew threatens landfall on Florida’s east coast.

On Monday, Florida governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the hurricane hitting in the West Palm Beach area late Thursday. The storm is projected to run up the east coast, affecting other cities, including Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach, where the PGA Tour is headquartered.

“It is unfortunate that we’ve had to cancel our season-ending event; however, our first priority is the safety of our players, fans, volunteers and staff,” said Web.com Tour president Bill Calfee. “With Hurricane Matthew on the horizon, it is critical that we make sure everyone involved with the Web.com Tour Championship has ample time to evacuate the Northeast Florida area and return home.”

This marks the first time a Web.com Tour event has been canceled since the 2005 Miccosukee Championship, also played in Florida, which was canceled due to Hurricane Wilma.

With the cancellation of the tournament, the tour announced it will determine the fate of the 25 PGA Tour cards awarded through the normally four-event series on the basis of money earned in the three completed tournaments.

Unfortunately, the PGA Tour did not have a contingency plan to move the tournament to another site not in the path of the hurricane. With the new PGA Tour season starting next week at the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif., the tour felt it needed to determine the cards through the Web.com Tour Finals to avoid doubt about players’ status — for both the set of 25 players earning cards through the series and the 25 players that earned PGA Tour status through the Web.com Tour regular season and whose priority order for the start of the season was determined by combined money earned.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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