The Players Championship could drag into Tuesday due to bad weather at TPC Sawgrass, tournament chief referee Gary Young has said.

Five hours of play was lost on day one on Thursday and the 49th edition of the competition in Florida was further disrupted on Friday.

Play was initially suspended at 11:15 local time before round one could be completed, with confirmation following that it would not resume until at least 11:00 on Saturday.

A Monday finish now seems a likely outcome, though the event may yet stretch into a sixth day. 

"The potential is there. The potential, but let's hope not," Young said at a news conference.

"I think everything that we're looking at, we feel very confident that we can finish this tournament by Monday."

More thunderstorms, rain and strong wind is forecast for Saturday, forcing tournament officials to put contingency plans in place.

"We're going to make some adjustments to prepare for that overnight," Young added.

"The superintendent and his crew are going to need proper time to pick up debris, get the golf course back in condition. So there's a lot of variables involved. 

"I'm talking a little bit about scenarios down the road, but I want to be careful about too many expectations.

"It is highly, highly unusual to have this [weather] pattern for this prolonged period at this time of the year, looking back at the historical data on it. It's just bad luck."

Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge lead at six under par after finishing their rounds as scheduled on Thursday.

Brice Garnett also reached six under with five holes to complete once play resumes.

The likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are among those yet to complete their first rounds.