Madeira Islands Open Canceled by Bad Weather


It's rare when a professional golf tournament isn't completed, even if it's 36 holes. But that's exactly what happened when European officials pulled the plug on the weather-wracked Madeira Islands Open at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra in Portugal.

High winds on Thursday cancelled that round and heavy rains and more winds followed Friday. Over a three-day stretch the field completed only 18 holes.

With a dire forecast for Sunday, the decision was to make it a 36-hole event, with the top 65 and ties to play the final round in a shotgun start at 8 a.m. But after further delays officials were forced to call off the event. It'll be played later this year.

Keith Waters, the COO of the European Tour, said "The Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPI is a hugely important event for the European Tour so it is disappointing for everyone concerned that we have been forced to cancel this week.

"We share a very strong relationship with the hosts and sponsors, so we are already in discussions with the club and the sponsors to reschedule the event for another week in this year's Race to Dubai schedule.

"We must now make every effort to make sure that the Madeira Islands Open - Portugal - BPI takes place this year and that together we can show the world the true potential of this great event and this beautiful island."

The 68 shot by Denmark's JB Hansen on Friday was the low round of the tournament.

For more information, visit http://www.europeantour.com.