The inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship could be cancelled after the opening round was postponed again on Friday due to heavy rain. The European Tour event was further delayed after a huge overnight thunderstorm left much of the Durban Golf Club underwater. European Tour rules state that a tournament must complete at least 36 holes to avoid being called off. “The further overnight rain – around 30mm – and a huge thunderstorm has obviously set us back by a long way now,” European Tour tournament director Mikael Eriksson said. “Every fairway is almost completely under water now and there is no chance we will be able to play at all on Friday. “The plan now is to try to start the first round at 0630 on Saturday morning; we are hiring more pumps and more people to try to clear the water off the golf course as fast as possible.” The Durban course, which sits almost 15 metres below sea level, has received the normal annual amount of rain in the past two months. “Today is fairly clear, but it is cloudy over the interior, so there is the chance of some more rain this afternoon,” Sunshine Tour meteorologist Evert Scholtz said.
Author: Omnisport