Monday finish possible as Open halted due to winds

[July 18, 2015]  By Martyn Herman
 
 ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - The 144th British Open was blown further off schedule on Saturday as a howling gale forced a suspension around half an hour after players returned to St Andrews to try and complete their second rounds.

When 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen's ball began blowing wildly across the 13th green at around 0730 organizers called a halt to proceedings, although a few groups managed to finish the holes they were on.

With winds gusting to around 45mph and no respite in sight until mid-afternoon, the prospect of a Monday finish to the Open for only the second time is increasing.

Saturday's brief early passage of play was a damaging one for leader Dustin Johnson who had returned to the edge of the 14th green which he had reached in two the previous night.

A poor chip and a three-putt dropped him to a share of the lead on nine-under-par with England's Danny Willett who is safely in the clubhouse.

The second round could not be completed on Friday after more than three hours were lost because of torrential morning rain, meaning 42 of the 156-strong field returned early on Saturday to try and get back on track.

"We spent an hour at the far end of the course before play started assessing whether the course was playable," said a statement from the Royal and Ancient organizers.

"Balls were not moving on the greens and while the conditions were extremely difficult we considered the golf course to be playable.

"Gusts of wind increased in speed by 10-15 percent after play resumed. This could not be foreseen at the time that play restarted and made a material difference to the playability of the golf course."

Johnson's playing partner Jordan Spieth, who managed to par the 14th to stay at five under, could be heard complaining that play should not have started.

Winds are expected to remain strong until around 4pm local time so it is highly unlikely the third round will be completed by the end of the day.

The only time the Open has finished on a Monday was when the late Seve Ballesteros won at Royal Lytham in 1988.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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