Players criticise European Tour decision to

suspend play in Dubai gale-force winds

SKYSPORTS.COM
Martin Kaymer and Chris Wood were among the players to criticise the European Tour’s decision to suspend second-round play at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic today.

Emirates Golf Club was hit by strong winds throughout Friday, when several trees were blown over as gusts increased before the second round was suspended at 2.25pm local time.
Greens were not cut or rolled today due to the expected bad weather, while those players in the second half of the draw faced tough conditions for the second day running.

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Rory McIlroy

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Jason Day

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Dustin Johnson

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Hideki Matsuyama

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Adam Scott

22/1

Bubba Watson

22/1

Henrik Stenson

25/1

Justin Thomas

25/1

Justin Rose

28/1

Rickie Fowler

28/1

Phil Mickelson

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Patrick Reed

40/1

Tiger Woods

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Louis Oosthuizen

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Branden Grace

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Charl Schwartzel

50/1

Jon Rahm

50/1

Paul Casey

50/1

Brooks Koepka

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Brandt Snedeker

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Danny Willett

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Jimmy Walker

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Matt Kuchar

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Sergio Garcia

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Matthew Fitzpatrick

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Lee Westwood

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Thomas Pieters

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Zach Johnson

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Alex Noren

100/1

Daniel Berger

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Jim Furyk

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Marc Leishman

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Shane Lowry

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J.B Holmes

125/1

Bill Haas

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Ian Poulter

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Jason Dufner

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Martin Kaymer

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Russell Knox

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Tyrrell Hatton

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Andy Sullivan

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Billy Horschel

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Bryson Dechambeau

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Charley Hoffman

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Chris Wood

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Hudson Swafford

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Kiradech Aphibarnrat

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Si Woo Kim

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Thorbjorn Olesen

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Kevin Na

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Angel Cabrera

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David Lingmerth

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Soren Kjeldsen

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Curtis Luck

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Bernhard Langer

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Fred Couples

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Kaymer battled through the winds as one of the early starters to card a three-under 69 and join Rafa Cabrera Bello in a share of the clubhouse lead, but wasn't impressed with the decision to halt play.
"Hard to understand the difference between the morning play and now, therefore even more surprised about the decision," the German posted on Twitter after his round.
The former US Open champion is five strokes behind leader George Coetzee, who was one-shot clear of first round pacesetter Sergio Garcia after eight holes

 

Coetzee and the afternoon starters will now return at 7.30am on Saturday morning to finish their rounds. Far better weather is forecast for the weekend.
Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman, who is set to miss the cut at four over par, wrote on Twitter: "Suspending play now is ridiculous. Half the field played 36 holes in these conditions."
Wood was also critical of the decision on social media, saying: "This has just been turned into the most one-sided event of the year."

                                

The European Tour defended their decision to abandon play for the day, citing player and spectator safety as a reason for their decision.
"Winds increased during the course of lunchtime into the early afternoon to the point where we had gusts approaching 36 miles an hour and beyond," Inverness-born tournament director Mike Stewart said.                                          
"We had TV towers' roofs blown off. We had balls moving on the greens - blew into a bunker at one stage - five trees came down, it was very unsafe and it was unplayable.
"So we brought the players off the golf course in the interests of play and safety to the spectators, as well.
"Hopefully we can get most of the third round completed tomorrow. We'll still have a bit to conclude on Sunday and, all going well, still have a good chance of finishing on time on Sunday afternoon."

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