Players Championship suspended due to thunderstorms at TPC Sawgrass

The 2022 Players Championship only made it a few hours into its first day of action before inclement weather forced play to be suspended Thursday.

"Due to approaching area thunderstorms, which may contain dangerous weather, play has been temporarily suspended at The Players Championship," the tournament announced Thursday.

The tournament held at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is offering the largest prize in the history of golf with the winner earning $3.6 million of the record $20 million purse.

On Thursday, about half of the field managed to tee off before play was suspended, with the first group of the day getting through 12 holes. The leaders so far are Harold Varner III, Will Zalatoris and Tommy Fleetwood at four under par, although reigning champion Justin Thomas and betting favorite Collin Morikawa were among those who hadn't started yet.

Another front-runner, Jon Rahm, was two under through seven holes before the delay.