Consistent fog and subsequent lack of visibility has caused a lengthy delay to the beginning of the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra.
After a sunny pro-am day at the island venue, which is over 700m above sea level, fog came in overnight and remained for the morning and long into the afternoon and tournament officials were forced to suspend the beginning of The European Tour’s 1,500th event.
José Maria Zamora, Tournament Director, said: “It is a very unusual mini ecosystem here at this venue and, while many of the holes on the course further down the mountain are clear, unfortunately some are still under fog.
“At the moment there is no visibility at certain holes close to the clubhouse and so there is a large risk of lost balls. We have no choice but to wait and hope we get some consistent visibility.”
If play cannot be started by 5pm local time play will be abandoned and Round One will begin on Friday with the original times unchanged.
The 22nd edition of the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI holds the distinction of being the 1,500th officially sanctioned European Tour event.
