SIGNIFICANT SATURDAY RISK OF THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN OR

R and A DECIDE ON TWO-TEE START IN


VIEW OF BAD WEATHER FORECAST

The R and A are taking very seriously the very bad weather forecast for the weekend, particularly Saturday - and so they should!
There will be a two-tee start, something unheard of in Open championship history.
David Rickman, executive director of Rules and Equipment Standards at the R andA, said tonight;

"On a beautiful evening such as we have had, it's hard to believe the disruptive weather forecast that we have received for tomorrow. The Met Office's onsite forecasters believe that there is a significant risk of thunderstorms and heavy rain, which will interrupt tomorrow's (Saturday) play. This is consistent with the Amber weather warning that's been issued for much of England and Wales.

"Therefore, we have taken a number of decisions regarding tomorrow's (Saturday) play to maximize the chances of completing the championship on time. These are that play is scheduled now to commence at 9 a.m. Play will be in groups of three, and we will utilise a two-tee start, using the 1st and 10th tees. These measures combined give us the potential to accommodate up to five hours of delay and still complete the third round tomorrow (Saturday) evening.

"If we are delayed tomorrow (Saturday) morning beyond 9 a.m., we will start as early as we can thereafter. We are now working with all of those involved in staging this championship to make the necessary arrangements to facilitate this revised plan."