PGA EuroPro Tour finale disrupted by weather

ONLY 10 SCORES RETURNED BEFORE FIRST
DAY PLAY SUSPENDED ON THE AZORES

FROM DAVID ALLEN
PGA EuroPro Tour Media Manager
THE opening day of the Azores Tour Championship was almost wiped out by the weather. Play was eventually abandoned for the day at 4pm at Batalha Golf Club.
By that time only 10 players had completed their rounds with scores raning from two-under-par 70 to 13-over-par 85.
The morning's play in this the PGA EuroPro Tour season's finale, was disrupted by suspensions due to high winds and heavy rain.
Later thunder storms forced tournament officials to call a halt.
A 9am restart on Sunday is planned for players to complete their opening round, with a two-tee start for round two provisionally planned for 1pm.
Bridgnorth's David James is the clubhouse leader at two under par, after hitting three birdies in his opening round.
Lee Wood was the only other player below par following his opening round of one-under-par 71.
Scots Jack Doherty and Graeme Brown, pictured above right, plus England's Roger Winchester and Ian Walley finished on 73.
Doherty bogeyed the first, seventh and eighth but then had a brilliant hat-trick of birdies - given the awful conditions - at the 12th, 13th and 14th before subsiding with a bogey at the 16th.
Brown from Montrose had a steader round with birdies at the first and 13th and bogeys at the sixth, eighth and 16th.
COMPLETED SCORES
70 D James.
71 L Wood.
73 J Doherty (Sco), G Brown (Sco), R Winchester, I Walley.
75I Ridgway.
80 L Genny, D Astin.
85 K Stephenson.