MONDAY FINISH NOW ON CARDS AT CELTIC MANOR

Ryder Cup halted by heavy rain

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Play was suspended at The Celtic Manor Resort two hours into the first session because of heavy rain, marking the first time a Ryder Cup has had to be temporarily stopped since 1997 at Valderrama.
Having rained throughout the night and all morning, The Twenty Ten Course was under enough water for officials to suspend play and bring in the players.

John Paramor, Chief Referee of The European Tour, said: “Being matchplay, we leave a lot up to the players themselves. They were continuing but it got to such a stage where even with all the resources we have here it was just too much. We were fighting an uphill battle.
"We were hoping for a break in the weather, it was there for a few minutes, but unfortunately those lovely breaks filled in and it's turned out to be pretty strong rain again.
“It's a very strong storm system that is affecting us and it can change but we are looking at early afternoon to start again. That is the indication. We will be looking at possibly playing on Sunday morning now and we have the ability to go to Monday, but hopefully the weather will improve and we can get going again.”

At the time play was suspended, the match positions were:

Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer two up after five holes against Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell one up against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar after four holes.

Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher one up against Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods after three holes.

Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington two down to Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton after two holes.

MONTY DELIGHTED WITH EARLY MOMENTUM

European Captain Colin Montgomerie was delighted with the early momentum his team was able to build in the opening four-balls, before the elements intervened to force a suspension.
Montgomerie’s charges are ahead in three of the four games, with only Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington trailing America’s rookie pairing of Jeff Overton and Bubba Watson.
In light of the encouraging start his thad made the Scot was understandably keen to stay out on the Twenty Ten course for as long as the conditions would allow, but conceded that the increasingly heavy rain meant they were ultimately left with little choice but to suspend play.
Montgomerie said: “With us leading the first three games, our Team room is obviously happier than our opponents’ right now. And in the last game, if you are going to lose some holes then you are better off losing them early, and that’s what Luke and Pádraig have done – to two very good birdies, I must admit, by Jeff Overton and Bubba Watson. They are two down, but that’s after two holes, so that’s like scoring very early in a football match, so there’s plenty of time to recover.
“Both Captains were offered an opportunity to say what they felt about the conditions out there, and I wanted to stay on, in a perfect world; but at the same time, there was nothing we could do. Hopefully the spectators understood our decision, along with John Paramor, the Chief Referee, that there was nothing we could do but to call it off.”
Montgomerie also talked up the role the voluble crowd at The Celtic Manor Resort could play in determining the result of the contest in the coming days.
He said: “They are our 13th man, and the first tee has proved that. So we need the fans out there to be cheering as loud as possible for the rest of the day to help our side maintain the momentum that we have gathered in the first couple of hours of play this morning.”