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Lloyd Kennedy carded a four under par first round of 68 to move to within a shot of clubhouse leader Scott Henry at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI, which has been reduced to 36 holes due to further severe weather delays. The tournament has been cut in half after a succession of long suspensions due to fog, and the cut will fall at the conclusion of the first round, which was suspended overnight for a third day running and will resume on Sunday morning. Kennedy defied the windy weather and several delays to card a bogey-free round which helped him to a share of second place alongside English compatriot Daniel Brooks and behind Henry of Scotland, who had carded a five under first round of 67 on Friday. After day one was abandoned due to heavy fog all day, Round One got underway on Friday but not before further delays, as more clouds moved in on the mountain-top Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra in the morning. Play was eventually halted at 8:00pm on Friday evening when more fog settled on the course and Round One once again resumed on Saturday at 12:00pm, after another delay in the morning. Two more suspensions followed on Saturday, the latest coming at 4:38pm and as the fog continued, play was suspended overnight, with the first round set to resume at 8:00am on Sunday morning. It is the first time the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI has not been played over the full 72 holes since 1997, when England’s Peter Mitchell won at this venue. Key player quotes Lloyd Kennedy, 68 (-4) “I’m over the moon with four under. It’s quite tough out there. It’s very windy and it’s been a long day – I was up at 5:15am this morning and had five warm ups during the day. “Hopefully I can do more of the same in the second round. I didn’t drop a shot for my whole first round which was nice. I haven’t done that for a while. “I have never played an event like this (with so many delays). This is definitely a first for me. I got to the golf club here on Monday morning at 11am and I had played seven holes by 2pm on the Saturday afternoon, so it’s been a long week. “But it’s the same for everyone. No one can do anything about the weather so you just have to take it as it comes. “It’s a mental test, absolutely. I was on the tee, then back into the clubhouse and back and forth a couple of times. It’s tough but you’ve got to have your wits about you and if you can get your head around it there are big opportunities there. “It’s such a big week for the Challenge Tour players this week, if you have a good week it’s a big step towards getting a European Tour card at the end of the season. Hopefully more of the same tomorrow and we’ll see where that takes me.”
Daniel Brooks, 68 (-4) “I’m really happy with that round. I made a few nice birdie putts at the start and then hit a couple of lovely shots coming in at the end for a couple of birdies. “It’s alright once you get out there on the course because you’re out there competing and it doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, you’re out there to do your job either way. Hopefully I can carry on the way I’m going.”
Jose Maria Zamora, The European Tour’s Tournament Director “Due to the very long delays throughout this tournament, a decision was made to reduce the tournament to 36 holes, with a cut after 18 holes. “We have made a decision which will give us the best possible chance of a satisfactory conclusion to what has been an extremely long and trying week for everyone so far. “The European Tour’s regulations state that it is at the Tournament Director’s discretion to make a decision in order to ensure the conclusion to the tournament. “We hope now that the weather will be more favourable and we can enjoy an exciting climax to The European Tour’s 1,500th event.” |
