NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – They call it a haar, and while it's usually lovely, it's upended the weekend of the Genesis Scottish Open, leading to a brutally long day for the players who made the cut. And a brutally long day ahead.
A haar, here in Scotland, is a cool, dense fog that is blown out to sea by an easterly wind. We've seen almost perfect weather the past few days at the Renaissance Club, but that warm air is catching over the cool North Sea and returning in the form of fog. Every player on the field lost their regular schedule on Saturday.
The third round of the Scottish Open started as planned, although JJ Spaun, one of the first teams out, called the appearance “marginal.” Sometimes this happens throughout the PGA Tour schedule, but the dark conditions keep burning as the day goes by. Not here. Instead, the tournament director explained what led to the fog delay:
When players cannot make fairway bunkers, penalty areas or tree lines from the tee box, or if they cannot see the pin or greenside bunkers to reach the shot. After about 90 minutes of play on Saturday morning, it did, resulting in a 2.5 hour delay.
Players who had blacked out, like Spaun, were instructed to warm up. He even dried some of his wet clothes. Dozens of players and caddies gathered at the driving range cafe, waiting for the signal to start practicing again. But fog delays are less predictable. The mist does not begin and does not end like thunder. Slow it down until it gets too big. It lasts until the appearance is “good.” Managing it is literally full of gray area.
“Yeah, I'm here, and – I wouldn't say – I'm pretty late,” said Johnny Keefer. “But it was nice to take my time and be able to eat twice before I had to leave.”
The leaders, who had planned to depart at 3.30pm, were now set to start their rounds after 6pm – the latest start time for any round in years.
“It feels like I'm going back to the golf club after dinner,” Rory McIlroy told broadcaster SkySports.
But July in Scotland gives daylight forever, it seems. From just after 1pm, the Scottish Open was the Scottish Open. Even though everything was gray, many fans were out and wearing shorts, as the locals often force themselves to do in the summer, regardless of the weather. The fan village was packed, the beers were flowing, and many pros got their 18 holes.
But around 7pm parts of the golf course near the coast started to lose visibility again. DP World Tour rules officials are monitoring the situation with every passing minute. At 7:55 pm, after McIlroy and the final teams had reached the end of their nine games, the horn sounded again, sending the players off the field. The decision came with an old warning that no one is happy about: Updates to follow. After thirty minutes, the game was suspended for the day.
As a result, most golf stays on Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. Michael Thorbjornsen will go into the night riding a two birdie-streak and holding a share of the lead, with 23 holes to play. Matthew Fitzpatrick is tied with him at 11 under, but will have 28 holes to play on Sunday. They will restart at 7am with 24 players within four shots of their lead, setting Sunday up to be a ripper day of golf.
As long as the haar stays away.
