Hansen in Front at Blustery Madeira Islands Open


Denmark's Joachim B. Hansen shot a 4-under 68 to take the clubhouse lead in the weather-wracked Madeira Islands Open.

The 72-hole European Tour event was slated to begin Thursday at the Club de Golf do Santo de Serra in Portugal, but the entire first round was wiped out by high winds and the tournament reduced to 54 holes.

The golf course in the Madeira Islands is situated atop a mountain and is known for its breezy conditions. Strong winds continued Friday morning, forcing another near two-hour delay before play started.

Bad weather came through later Friday to halt play, with Hansen one of the lucky ones to finish the first round. On Thursday the winds were so high that balls were swept off the greens.

"The course is nice, really good conditions, and it's good they made the greens that much slower so the ball doesn't roll in the wind," Hansen said.

For updated scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015020/leaderboard/index.html.