I haven't seen any of round one this morning as I just got in so I have to rely on the report from Durban by the guys covering it from the European Tour.. Here it is..
Persistent rain has forced organisers to call an early finish to the first day of the South African Open Championship in Durban.
The adverse weather conditions meant that only half the field teed off at the 100th edition of the competition, with only six players completing nine holes.
Two-time US Open Champion Retief Goosen was amongst those in a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard when rain forced play to be halted at 0853 local time (0653 GMT).
Twice a winner of this event, Goosen shares top spot on two under par (through four holes), alongside Scotland's David Drysdale (seven), Danish Challenge Tour graduate Thorbjorn Olesen from Denmark (eight) and fellow South Africans Divan van den Heever (six) and Martin Maritz (six).
Norwegian Marius Thorp and home pair Willie van der Merwe and Colin Nel - three of the players that did manage to beat the rain and finish nine holes - sit a shot off the leaders.
They are part of a 12-man group on one under along with former Ryder Cup star David Howell (six) and Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen (six).
Defending champion Richie Ramsay was on one over through four holes - the Scot's solitary bogey coming on the par four 11th - with the likes of Ernie Els and Tim Clark, both past winners, having to now wait 24 hours for their first round.
The persistent drizzle came and went at the Durban Country Club making parts of the course unplayable.
It left organisers having to wait more than five-and-a-half hours before they made a final call on proceedings at 1430 local time (1230 GMT).
They now plan to dedicate tomorrow to round one with an 0830 (0630 GMT) start scheduled - two hours later than normal - and Saturday to round two.
Tournament director Gary Todd said: "We've had in excess of three inches of rain, that's a massive amount.
"We need maximum drainage, hence the 0830 start tomorrow. Hopefully the wind picks up this evening and it dries up a little bit and it gives the green keeper two hours tomorrow morning.
"The key is to get 36 holes in, which constitutes a tournament. So we'll finish round one on Friday and then start round two on Saturday.
"So we'll get round two done and make a cut. Then we'll see how things pan out and what the weather looks like.
"It will either be a 36-hole final round with a limited field or a 54-hole tournament with a full cut, 65 and ties."
Todd also seemed to rule out a Monday finish in the co-sanctioned European and Sunshine Tour event.
He added: "Logistically it's quite tricky for the European guys to find flights this close to Christmas. It's a very busy time and we'll need to weigh up all those options.
"Getting people in and out of the place at this time of year can be tricky. So we might have to do what we can to get done on Sunday."
Ernie Els who has won his national Open 4 times is the top ranked player in the field...
Bryan Angus
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