Rain stops Open play at St Andrews
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It was Wet, Wet, Wet when golfers and spectators pitched up for the 2nd round of the 144th Open at St Andrews earlier this morning.
But there was definitely no golfing love all around the Home of Golf as heavy overnight rain flooded the grand Old Course and left it unfit for play, causing a three hours plus delay – the 2nd round was due to get underway at 10am.
Greenkeeping staff worked feverishly to sweep the standing water off the course with most of it being swept into the Swilcan Burn. Only the ducks were content at the Home of Golf…
It’s been a frustrating period for all concerned, specially of course the players who have been forced to sit, wait, talk…and eat.
Said England’s in-form Tommy Fleetwood (-4): “The players just tend to hang around and catching up with the gossip and chit-chat. There’s not much else to do apart from talk and eat – there’s plenty of food around so you can put on a bit of weight!”
From now on in, it will be catch up time and it looks a certainty that the 2nd round will go into and be concluded tomorrow,
Overnight leader Dustin Johnson won’t now tee it up until around tea time and though it is expected to be a lot drier then and largely rain-free, the wind is expected to pick up and pose plenty of problems for the afternoon starters.
It will be interesting to see how the big-hitting American copes with the testing conditions and there’s no dodgy the dodgy weather has made The Open a more open contest.
It could well play into the hands of the renowned bad weather players and experienced former Open champions such as Paul Lawrie and Padraig Harrington will be quietly rubbing their hands….and fancying their chances of more Open glory….
