BMW International suffers day three washout
The waterlogged 18th green at Gut Laerchenhof Golf Club. Picture: Getty Images
Paul Dunne managed just three holes — par-bogey-birdie — before the second round of the BMW International Open was washed out.
Dunne is tied 27th on four under, seven stokes behind the leaders, who are set for 36 holes on Sunday after just four hours and nine minutes of play was possible on day three at Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof.
Leading duo Henrik Stenson and Raphaël Jacquelin were due to go out for the third round at 1.20pm with the third man at 11 under - Kiradech Aphibarnrat - due out nine minutes earlier with Thorbjørn Olesen, who was a shot further back.
Heavy rain had led to the suspension of play at 11.59am, however, and play was suspended for the day at 4.00pm.
Play will recommence at 7.30am on Sunday morning with the final group from the round three draw going out at 8.42am. The final round will commence at 9.30am.
The players will go out in the same order as in round three but this time in three-balls, with the final group of Stenson, Jacquelin and Apjhibarnrat scheduled to tee off at 1.30pm.
Henrik Stenson
“When it coming down heavy we could see the flooding on the 18th and the putting green was completely underwater. It's not playable, and we're just going to try to get all the golf done tomorrow instead. Let's hope for no further delays tomorrow and we'll try and get this thing finished. We play an outdoor sport, you get these every now and again. We've got a pretty long day ahead of us tomorrow, but we'll get it done eventually.”
Raphaël Jacquelin
“It's a tough day for everybody, but at least the weather is supposed to be all right tomorrow and we'll be able to play 72 holes for the tournament. That's the most important factor. It's going to be a long tomorrow, but if we get a bit of sunshine, it will be good for everyone, for the crowd and for the players.”
European Tour Tournament Director, David Williams
“All being well, we're hoping to finish at 6.30pm tomorrow. The last putt will drop at 6.30 and the leaders will go off at 1.30pm. We are keeping the same draw, if you like, or draw order, as round three, but just putting them into three-balls, which will enable us to finish as early as we can.
“Today in the last sort of four hours, four or five hours, there's been nearly 100 millilitres of rain, so it's been pretty constant and on top of what's already a pretty wet golf course. We've been out to the third hole and the entire fairway was unplayable.
And even if it stopped, it would probably be a couple of hours before it would be anything like playable, and the forecast is for it not to stop. So we then decided we had to try and make this solution for the good of the tournament.”
