Golf

Play abandoned due to strong winds at Dubai Desert Classic

Kaymer and Cabrera Bello had earlier defied the conditions to card second rounds of 69

Players walk up the eighth fairway as strong wind blows sand across the hole during the second round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Photograph: Little/Getty Images

Fri Feb 3 2017 - 12:05

Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer and Rafa Cabrera Bello set the early clubhouse target before play was abandoned in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Several trees were blown over by the strong winds at Emirates Golf Club, prompting tournament officials to halt play at 2:25pm local time (10.25am GMT).

Play was eventually abandoned for the day, with round two scheduled to restart at 7:30am local time on Saturday.

Kaymer and Cabrera Bello had earlier defied the conditions to card second rounds of 69 and reach four under par, with South Africa's George Coetzee leading on nine under after eight holes when the sirens sounded.

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Graeme McDowell was level par after playing six holes, leaving him four under overall and five shots off the leader.

While Paul Dunne hit a double bogey on the par 3 seventh hole on his way to a disappointing second round 75. He's now one over par overall.

The decision to abandon play will not have gone down well with the players who faced tough conditions on Thursday afternoon as well, with Kaymer's caddie Craig Connelly writing on Twitter: "I've seen it all now! We'll just play the 36 holes in that wind then... #S***"

Kaymer himself wrote: “Hard to understand the difference between the morning play and now, therefore even more surprised about the decision.”

The 32-year-old former world number one had been more diplomatic immediately after a superb round containing five birdies and three bogeys, telling Sky Sports: “Combined with yesterday it was probably one of the toughest 36 holes I’ve played in Dubai and therefore I’m even more happy to shoot four under par — it’s a very decent score.”

The greens had not been cut or rolled due to the expected bad weather and Kaymer added: “You can complain as much as you want and on the golf course I do - on the TV we shouldn’t — but yeah it’s true we had tough conditions yesterday, which is just unlucky.

“But today we had fairly poor greens because they didn’t touch them at all, so we still had some spike marks from yesterday evening and that’s a bit tougher if you know already you are on the wrong side of the draw and then you have to deal with that.

“I’m therefore even more proud of the way I played.”

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