JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The final event for players to earn PGA Tour cards was canceled Wednesday because of Hurricane Matthew, cutting short the four-tournament qualifying series.
The Web.com Tour Championship was to start Thursday at Atlantic Beach Country Club.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry ordered an evacuation for the beaches near Jacksonville, including Atlantic Beach, and the PGA Tour felt it had little choice but to scratch the tournament so everyone could get out of town.
"It is unfortunate that we've had to cancel our season-ending event," said Web.com Tour President Bill Calfee. "However, our first priority is the safety of our players, fans, volunteers and staff."
Golf Channel was busy taking down its platforms and towers used to televise the event.
The Web.Com Tour Finals consists of four $1 million tournaments. The top 25 from the regular season are assured their cards, while 25 more cards are awarded based on a money list from those four events. The money list instead is final after three events.
The final card went to Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand, beating out Rob Oppenheim by $392. A year ago, Oppenheim won the final card by $101. He made it to the PGA Tour last year for the first time at age 36 but will be relegated to the Web.com Tour this year.
The Web.com Tour Finals are typically held in four straight weeks. This year, the tour opted for a week off between the third and final event so that the Web.com Tour Championship would not go up against the Ryder Cup.
That left no time to postpone the final event by one week because the PGA Tour season starts next week at the Safeway Open in Napa, California.
Wesley Bryan won the regular-season money title, and with three victories, he earned an instant promotion to the PGA Tour. Grayson Murray won the Web.com Tour Finals money list, making him eligible for The Players Championship next May.
The priority ranking, the list that determines who gets into tournaments, alternates between the top 25 from the regular season and the top 25 from the Web.com Tour Finals. Among those who earned their cards through the finals were former U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau and past PGA Tour winners Scott Stallings, Will MacKenzie, Rod Pampling, D.A. Points and Rory Sabbatini.
Erik Compton, Mark Wilson and Camilo Villegas failed to get full PGA Tour status.