GOLF - US Masters: The joke is that Mother Nature is having the last laugh, inflicting a deluge on an establishment that resists all attempts to install a woman member in its midst. And, yesterday, there was indeed a sense that the world had been turned on its head as a course - more beautiful and better manicured than any other, anywhere - was forced to admit defeat to the elements.

Not since 1939 had an entire first day's play been washed out; and not since 1983, when Seve Ballesteros returned on Monday to finish his march to the title, had an entire round - the second - been abandoned.

However, with four inches of rainwater dumped on the course at Augusta National since last Monday, and with casual water on many fairways and no relief available, there was no option other than for the green-jacketed members to put their hands up and admit defeat. Their attempts to make the course playable had failed, and there was also concern for the safety of spectators as viewing areas became as slippery as a downhill descent on an Alpine piste.

The first round has been rescheduled for today - teeing off at 12.30 p.m. Irish time - and the intention is to squeeze as much of the second round as possible into whatever daylight is available. "If at all possible, we will finish on Sunday," insisted tournament official Will Nicholson. Players who don't complete their second rounds today will return tomorrow morning.

In truth, many players had travelled to the course expecting not to play. In the early hours of the morning a downpour had added yet more water to an already saturated course. Initially, play was suspended for three hours as groundsmen attempted to make the course playable; but their attempts proved futile.

"It was the right decision, the only one to be made," insisted Padraig Harrington. "We expected it. The course was at saturation point on Wednesday. It was playable, but borderline, but the extra rain just brought it beyond that. All they want to do is to get 63 holes in before Sunday afternoon so they can play nine holes at the end of the day - and they'll manage to do that, and get the job done."

One complication in the decision to abandon play is that there is no placing rule in operation at the Masters, unlike regular tour events when the weather dictates. "I think there will be a female member here before they lift, clean and place," quipped Chris DiMarco, adding: "They'll never do that here, and rightly so, (because) it's not what it is about."

In keeping with the history of the Masters, and of the game, Nicholson insisted there would be no introduction of "lift, clean and place". He explained: "We believe that's the traditional way to play the game and that's the way we intend to play the game."

Yesterday's decision marked the sixth occasion in US Masters history that the weather had acted as a spoilsport, causing at least one day to be washed out.

Most players took a philosophical approach to the abandonment, however. "This won't have an effect on the outcome of the tournament. The guys who are playing well will have a greater chance to take advantage of a full day," claimed Phil Mickelson.

Of those who gathered outside the clubhouse after the announcement, Harrington was in particularly upbeat mood. "It's part of the game, accepting that these things happen. Just as we have to accept that there is going to be some mud on the ball," he said.

"As professional golfers, we expect everything to be fair and just and manicured . . . but that's not what golf is about, it is a mental test, and a little bit of mud throws in a little bit of a complication, a little variance, and helps bring out a true champion.

"It's not just the guy who hits the ball the best, it is the guy who can handle all the situations, both mentally and physically. Some say it's not fair, to play with mud on a ball, but who said golf was meant to be fair? I know I am going to get mud on my ball when we do get around to playing. And I am going to be disappointed. But I expect everyone else is going to have the same problem - and that's where the beauty of the game lies, in testing your mental strength.

"In the Players' Championship, I got two mud balls and it totally freaked me out and I made two bogeys off them. But now I see it as good preparation for this week. Everyone says the course playing this way is only for the long hitters but, really, at the end of the day, it is the guy who holes the most putts and has the short game and the iron game and the mental game who will win. It helps to be a long hitter, but there is a lot more to the Masters than just hitting it long off the tee."

Harrington, who is the leading European player in the official world rankings, has attracted increased attention from the America media this week as his profile has risen after this performance at Sawgrass, where he was second to Davis Love. Now, he has the label - so long attached to Colin Montgomerie - of being the best European not to have won a major. It doesn't bother him.

"I don't mind others thinking that way, but I reduce those expectations for myself and just get on with my own game. Just because someone else thinks it isn't going to help me, I've got to stay focused on my own game," he said.

The heavy rainfall this week has transformed the course, making it play longer than in recent years. An indication of how it is likely to play came from DiMarco, who said he hit a three-wood approach to the 18th hole in practice on Wednesday. Harrington says it reminds him of how it used to be when he watched the Masters on television in the 1980s.

"It is playing similar to how it played 15 years ago. I remember Greg Norman playing his four-iron approach into the last one year, and it has taken us back to when players used to play long irons or even woods into par fours," said Harrington.

So, after an unwanted day off yesterday - when many players limited themselves to some practice, and many also headed for the local cinema to kill time - the real action, weather permitting, belatedly gets under way today.

Tiger Woods is chasing a third successive Masters title, seeking to become the first player in the game's history to do so. Some would say that the physical demands of playing two rounds in the one day have only helped to play further into his hands.

We'll see.