Ulster’s URC match against Edinburgh may have been postponed several hours earlier 80km down the coast, but it takes more than a storm to call off links golf as the players battled through horrendous conditions from Storm Amy on day two of the Dunhill Links Championship on the east coast of Scotland.
Hardy fans watched on at three links courses – Kingsbarns, St Andrews and Carnoustie – as the Old Course was covered in puddles, flags were almost blown out of the holes and long hitters were left hitting drivers and fairway woods into short par fours that would have been wedge approaches in calm conditions.
A decision was finally made to stop play due to waterlogged courses a few hours into the worst of the storm, as a hooter went which Sky Sports on-course reporter Wayne Riley said nobody could hear due to the wind and rain. Upon hearing that play was suspended, Brooks Koepka reacted in frustration “where was it 40 minutes ago?”
Tom McKibbin stayed in touch with the leaders Richard Sterne and Ryder Cup star Bob MacIntyre, who highlighted why he is one of the best links golfers in the game with a six-under-par 66 at Kingsbarns which moved him into a tie for the lead. The scene could not have been more different from Bethpage, but the Scot showed resilience of a different kind in playing through the storm for a significant part of his round to post the lowest score of the day and a 12-under total for the tournament.
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Sterne, meanwhile, took advantage of being first out this morning at St Andrews to post his 67 before conditions worsened.
“I got the good draw today so that helped, all the years playing here, sometimes you get good draws, sometimes bad, so I’m happy with that,” Sterne said, who has been playing in this event since 2001. “But I’m playing well and you can see it through the scores.” Fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen shot a round of 68 for 11 under.
McKibbin made hay before the conditions worsened, with four birdies on his opening nine, before making battling pars into the teeth of the wind and rain on the difficult Carnoustie, and he was on 10 under on the 18th hole when play was suspended, three under for his round and two off the lead.
Smartly, McKibbin chose not to finish out the tricky 18th hole in the bad weather – the perils of playing on were shown by former world number one Dustin Johnson who completed his round with a triple-bogey 8 at Kingsbarns 25 minutes after play was suspended.
It was a day of extremes which was emphasised by the eclectic round of Englishman Nathan Kimskey, who equalled a DP World Tour record with nine birdies in a row at St Andrews from the second to 10th holes, before making five bogeys into the wind on the way home to post only a 68 when the course record looked under threat.
Overnight leader Darius van Driel reached 13 under at St Andrews before four bogeys in a row brought him back to nine under.
Conor Purcell gave up ground with a one-over-par 73 at St Andrews, a double bogey at the Road Hole proving costly. The Dubliner is still within six shots of the lead and in a tie for 36th.
Pádraig Harrington made a positive move up the leader board with a two-under 70 at Kingsbarns, which gives him a good chance to make the 54-hole cut.
