3rd Round of Women's British Open Blown Out


High winds forced postponement of the third round of the Women's British Open. The LPGA Tour's fourth of five annual majors is taking place on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Officials tried to get the round in, but after a five-plus-hour wait decided to re-start play Sunday morning. Leader Na Yeon Choi and 17 others never got the chance to put a peg in the ground.

Two who finished their rounds, Cristie Kerr and New Zealand amateur Lydia Ko, both posted 3-over 75s, the best scores among those who finished 54 holes.

Of the 42 players on the course, Anna Nordqvist was having the best round. The Swede was 1-under par through 15 holes.

Winds gusted up to 40 mph. No. 1-ranked Inbee Park was 1-under through four holes before the suspension. The South Korean, who's seeking to become the first golfer - male or female - in history to win four professional majors in the same season, said the ball moved while she was getting ready to putt on the fourth green. Play was halted soon after.

Park is at 3-under par, seven strokes behind Choi. Park and Nordqvist were the only two players red figures for the day when play was stopped.

Round 3 will resume on Sunday at 6:15 a.m. local time, with the final round to follow. Players will remain in the same groups for Sunday's final round, which officials hope will start at 8 a.m. local time. If all goes according to plan, the final group will begin their final round at 1:40 p.m. local time, or 8:40 a.m. (ET).

"This is a major championship and every endeavor will be made to finish 72 holes," said Susan Simpson, Ladies Golf Union (LGU) head of golf operations. "So if we need to go to Monday, then we'll go to Monday."

More high winds are predicted for Sunday. "It's still going to be windy (Sunday)," Simpson added. "Not, hopefully, as windy as it's been today, but there's no letup in it. It's still going to be very breezy and equally difficult conditions."

For updated scoring, visit www.lpga.com.