News & Opinion

2013 European Tour season-opener delayed again

By Associated Press
Dec 7, 2012 8:52 AM ET

DURBAN, South Africa – The start of the European Tour's season-opening Nelson Mandela Championship has been delayed for a second consecutive day after heavy rain left most of the course under water.

Organizers will try again to get the first round of the inaugural event under way on Saturday morning.

European Tour tournament director Mikael Eriksson says ''every fairway is almost completely under water and there is no chance we will be able to play at all on Friday.''

Thursday was also a washout at Royal Durban, with South Africa's east coast experiencing unusually high rainfall in the past few months.

Eriksson says organizers aimed to start at 6.30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

The Nelson Mandela Championship is the first of three successive tournaments in South Africa to start the 2013 Race to Dubai.