By Brendan JamesGolf Australia Editorat the Australian OpenGale force winds have forced players from the course
(pictured right) little more than an hour into the second round of the Australian Open at Sydney's NSW Golf Club.
A southerly buster, with winds gusting up to 65 and 70km/h, hit the La Perouse peninsula nearly six hours before it was expected and tournament organisers had no choice but to call a halt to play.
Tournament director Trevor Herden said strong winds had been expected but they arrived much sooner and stronger than anticipated.
"There are no issues with the golf course - it's simply a matter of weather and we consider the current wind gusts to be unreasonable to expect players to compete in,""Herden said. "We looked at some of the flat areas around pin positions and the wind was blowing flat putts six or seven feet off line, which is a situation that is not fair.
"This course is on the windiest part of the Sydney coastline and winds are always a factor but they are simply too strong at the moment to continue."
Herden said winds were expected to ease by 10am and a decision would be made then to get players back out on the course. He added that he hoped the second round would be completed today but provisions would be made for late players to complete their rounds tomorrow if need be.
Several players were unhappy with the suspension of play. Peter O'Malley, who won the Australian Junior Championship around this course 23 years ago, was visibly annoyed as he trudged back to the clubhouse from the 13th hole, his fourth hole of the morning. O'Malley had just birdied the par-5 12th to get back to three under, three shots adrift of overnight leaders Stuart Appleby and Scott Hend.
Appleby was also affected by the suspension, having played two holes in par to stay at six under. Co-leader Hend was not due to hit off until midday but that time will now be revised.
The wind has been the big issue at this year's Open with every player, and official, keeping their eye on the weather forecasts. How it will affect scoring as round two continues is anyone's guess but if round one is any indicator, more high scores will be posted.
Some players took more than six hours to complete their opening round as strong wind gusts battered the NSW layout. More than a dozen lost balls were reported on the 12th and 15th holes, while scores ballooned late in the day.
Queensland's Nathan Uebergang felt the full brunt of the wind and the challenging layout, carding an 18-over-par 90 that included a septuple-bogey 12 on the 507-metre par-5 18th. He was one of 28 players who failed to break 80 in the first round. The average score for the par-72 layout was 76.226 with only the par-5s - 5, 8 and 12 - offering average scores below par.
At the suspension of play this morning, 46 players had begun their rounds and the scoring average for the course had already topped 75. The par-4 13th was proving a brute into the southerly with players averaging a bogey 5 on the hole.
All of these windy antics give rise to two questions: Should the players just be left to battle the elements until it becomes a ''golf course being unplayable'' issue? And, has the wind exposed the lack of the depth in the Australian Open field?
Let us know what
you think.
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