Inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship delayed due to rain
The 2013 European Tour did not start according to the schedule as excessive rains over the week forced the authorities to suspend the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship.
Without a shot hit on the first day of the Championship, the course did not dry up properly and there was still water on the fairways.
"The fairways are much waterlogged and the course hasn't improved as much as we hoped it would overnight," European Tour Tournament Director Mikael Eriksson said. "Further rain early this morning put us back another few hours".
The forecast for Thursday was good enough but due to lack of sunlight the field did not dry up.
However, there is an early start on Friday, which means that tournament can still finish in time, provided the conditions remain favourable.
"The good scenario is that we start at 0630 on Friday morning, play the first round tomorrow, the second on Saturday, have a cut and then go from there," he added.
"The tees and greens are not a problem -- they are fine. It's the fairways and rough that are bad," he explained.
"I'm hoping the sun is going to come out, but there could be some more rain on the way this afternoon".
The tournament is also co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour. Royal Durban Golf Club, which is a host to this event as well, is a magnificent golf course, having lush green fairways and excellent greens.
With cloudy weather, it will be tough for players to take to the course as the conditions will be windy. Moreover, with narrow fairways, golfers will have some trouble controlling the ball.
Rough areas are very deadly on the course and most probably players would prefer iron over woods in order to control their shots.
The management did try to shorten some holes to get the play under way but due to immense water logging it was not possible. Some par-4s holes were changed to par-3s and even one par-5 was converted into a par-3. Still, it did not work out.
By Saturday, a cut will hopefully be established and with early starts on the card the tournament may possibly conclude on time.
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