After a relatively benign start, the weather is expected to turn tough for round three of The Open Championships. The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is bracing itself for a patch of wet and windy conditions even as the course seems set to bare its fangs and bite the players this Saturday. And measures are afoot to deal with the thunderstorms and the likely devastation.
The R&A has announced that the third round of The Open Championship will be played with a two tee start due to forecast thunderstorms on Saturday. The decision was made in an effort to minimise the effect of disruptive weather that is expected to arrive in the early hours of the morning and continue for several hours.
Play will also commence in three-balls. The revised format is expected to save around three and a half hours of playing time. “On a beautiful evening such as we have today, it is hard to believe the disruptive forecast that we have received for tomorrow. The Met Office’s on-site forecasters believe that there is to be a significant risk of thunderstorms and heavy rain, which will interrupt tomorrow’s play,” informed David Rickman, The R&A’s Executive Director of Rules and Equipment Standards.
“This is consistent with the Amber weather warning that has been issued for much of England and Wales. Therefore, we have taken a number of decisions regarding tomorrow’s play to maximise the chances of completing the Championship on time. Play is scheduled now to commence at 9am. Play will be in groups of three, and we will utilise a two-tee start using the 1st and 10th tees,” added Rickman.
It is expected that the weather will turn rough in the wee hours of the morning, continuing to rain for much of the morning. Fortunately for the leading groups, the afternoon is expected to offer some respite, but gusting winds could still make it a difficult day to get through.
Report by Anand Datla (with inputs from The Open)
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