PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Ernie Els got a mulligan Saturday morning.

Soggy conditions on the TPC at Sawgrass and more rain in the forecast for The Players Championship forced officials to restart the second round, meaning the 30 players who had already begun the round will have their scores wiped out and start over.

The second round was suspended Friday after 44 minutes because of rain. The decision to restart allowed players to lift, clean and place their balls in the water-logged fairways. An entire round must be played under the same conditions.

That was good news for Els, who chopped up the first hole so badly that his first shot Saturday would have been a 12-foot putt just to make bogey. Sergio Garcia also got a break, having hit his tee shot into deep rough.

Not so fortunate were Skip Kendall and Joe Ogilvie, both of whom were off to a great start. Ogilvie had birdied the 10th from a difficult lie and added another birdie on the par-5 11th, while Kendall had chipped in for eagle on No. 2.

In the big picture, it was a terrible break for golf's fifth major.

The best The Players Championship could hope for was completing the second round Saturday, then having a slightly shorter field try to squeeze in 36 holes on Sunday.

But a Monday finish appeared likely - the first in the 31-year history of the tournament - and the first Tuesday finish in 25 years on the PGA Tour was not out of the question.

Along with restarting the second round, tournament officials were changing some hole locations to higher ground on the greens to avoid puddles.

It was a strange turn of events, but not this year.

Late Friday afternoon, PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell sat before a microphone fielding questions about weather problems.

"I believe we've had this conversation on the West Coast," said Russell, who has made more trips to the press center this year than Vijay Singh.

Seven of the 13 tournaments this season have been mucked up by the weather - from heavy rain at the season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii to fog and floods in California to heavy rain last week at Bay Hill.

"Let's hope we're getting it out of our system," Russell said.

Maybe. Maybe not.

While Russell spoke, an overhead TV flashed The Weather Channel's ominous forecast - thunderstorms Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

"Everybody has got to fight it," said Fred Funk, a shot behind leader Steve Jones. "It has been frustrating for everybody this year, media, players, officials, TV. It's been real frustrating for us to get these tournaments in."

Stormy weather had already plagued the TPC at Sawgrass this week. Rain on Monday and Tuesday saturated the course, causing mud-on-the-ball problems for Singh, Els, Tiger Woods and the rest of the field.

More rain Friday delayed the second round's start an hour. Ten groups got on the course before play was suspended for good at 8:44 a.m. Nearly seven hours - and several more drenching rain bands - later, officials decided things were too wet to continue.

Russell is not thinking beyond the second round, hopeful of getting that in and going from there.

"We're keeping all our options open," he said.

Officials waited out Friday's rain at the tour's most prestigious tournament. Several players hung around the clubhouse or fitness trailer. Funk, who lives nearby, went home to his family and houseguests for some ping-pong.

"I got beat. It was ugly. Home court, home table," Funk said.

Russell said the greens and bunkers, rebuilt since the last Players Championship to improve drainage, held up well through a three-10ths of an inch of rain Friday. But several fairways were "basically, just filled to capacity."

Russell stressed that everything would be done to get in 72 holes, unlike the Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club. That was shortened to 36 holes and won in a one-hole playoff by Adam Scott.

If that meant playing Tuesday, Russell said that was a consideration. The last Tuesday finish? The 1980 Joe Garagiola-Tuscon Open.

This tournament has dealt with delays before. In 2000, there were 20 players who had to return for a Monday finish because of lightning and thunderstorms. A year later, 22 players were left on the course when final-round play was called because of darkness.

Fred Klauk, TPC at Sawgrass superintendent, said crews worked until dark and were scheduled to return at 4 a.m. to make the course playable. "The major issue is just standing water on the fairways," he said.

Jones, the surprising first-round leader with a 64, was scheduled for an afternoon tee time, as were Woods and Mickelson, who both opened with 70.

Funk is prepared to face a crazy schedule with golfers going off both tees through the weekend. Or, he'll stick around home for as long as it takes.

"We're just totally at the mercy of the weather," he said.

Again.