Stormy conditions forced Women's British Open at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake to be suspended after strong winds touching speeds of 60 mph made it hard for players to concentrate.
The conditions were so tough that Michelle Wie, a native of Hawaii, accustomed to playing under breezy conditions, too found in hard. No wonder she admitted that she hasn't seen anything like this before. "I came to the course at 5 a.m. It was dark at that point and I was walking past the third hole and it was raining sideways," the American told reporters.
Play was suspended at 8:25 a.m. local time with 36 players on the course and the round was called off at 2 p.m., with second round scores being scrapped.
"I think it's only the right thing to do," Norwegian golfer Suzann Pettersen told reporters. "The conditions were unreasonable. ... I don't think from the players' perspective that there was any other outcome. It wasn't just unfair conditions. It was unplayable. "
2004 major championship winner, Briton Karen Stupples, called the weather conditions "brutal".
"The wind kept blowing and blowing and kept getting worse. My ball was barely staying on the tee on 12... it was just wobbling all over the place. When the gusts came you literally almost fell over," said Wie.
"On the 12th green the balls were not staying at all. They were rolling seven, eight feet," Wie added.
"I think it's one day that's really good to be short because I felt like a flagpole out there," said Wie joking about her height. At 6 feet 1 inch, Wie is one of the tallest golfers on circuit.
With the persistent weather conditions, the cut is expected to be reduced from 65 to 50 players at the halfway stage of the tournament.
However, weather forecast says that while the wind will drop on Saturday, there is a possibility of rain on Sunday.
The 22-year-old South Korean debutante Ryu So-Yeon and compatriot Haeji Kang led the field with a two-under-par 70 at the end of the first round Thursday.
Defending champion and world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan had posted a par score of 72 along with 10 other golfers.
