ANDY CAPOSTAGNO, Houghton | Thursday 8.00pm.
TORRENTIAL overnight rain delayed the start of the Alfred Dunhill Challenge at Houghton Golf Club for five and a half hours on the opening day of the European Tour.
With about a quarter of the field due to return early on Friday morning to complete their rounds, the leader in the clubhouse is Brian Davis, an Englishman who has never won on tour.
Davis, a Londoner who bases himself in Orlando, Florida, began and ended with bogey fives, but in between had six birdies to finish on 68, four under par.
He is a shot ahead of four players who have finished their rounds, Ronnie McCann and Marco Gortana from South Africa, as well as Scotland’s Gary Orr and Phil Golding of England.
A host of players are at two under par and at one under after first day 71’s are two of the pre-tournament favourites, David Frost and Ian Woosnam.
115 millimetres of rain fell during a spectacular early morning cloudburst and when play began at noon two bunkers were so full of water that they were declared “ground under repair”, meaning the players could drop errant shots out of the trap under no penalty.
With a 60 percent chance of more rain over the weekend the likelihood of the tournament completing all 72 holes looks slim.
In 1996 German professional Sven Struver won over 54 holes, and even then the leaders had to come back on Monday morning to finish. When play was suspended at 6:50pm Struver was at one over for this year’s tournament having played just three holes.
Also among the late starters were Zimbabwe’s Mark McNulty and Germany’s Bernhard Langer.
Pre-tournament favourite Retief Goosen is at level par after a round which included two birdies and two bogeys, but the charismatic Frenchman Jean van de Velde had a day to forget with a four over par 76.
The first round will recommence at 7 o’clock on Friday morning and the second round will get underway as soon as possible after the first is completed.