Golf's Open Stars Play Monday Final Round After Storm Delays

The final round of the Open Championship will be played on a Monday for only the second time in its history today after long weather delays caused by high winds and heavy rain.

Governing body the R&A announced the move on Saturday as summer storms hit the tournament in St Andrews, Fife.

Play was suspended for around 10 hours on Saturday with wind gusts of 45mph recorded on the course.

On Friday, heavy rain halted play meaning some of the world's best golfers remained on the course until nearly 10pm and had to wait until Saturday evening to complete their round.

The only time the Open has previously been extended to Monday was when rain severely affected the 1988 event at Royal Lytham, where Seve Ballesteros went on to claim his third Claret Jug. Jordan Spieth's bid for the third leg of an unprecedented calendar grand slam remains firmly on track after the third round of the 144th Open Championship.

But the Masters and US Open champion could be denied a place in the record books after 22-year-old Irish amateur Paul Dunne claimed a share of the lead at St Andrews.

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said Saturday had been a tough and frustrating day for everyone''.

Tickets are priced at £10 for today with weekly tickets already purchased still valid.

The conditions over thr weekend frustrated some of the leading contenders in the tournament with Spieth swiping his club in the air after missing a putt that seemed to be held up in the wind.

TV cameras later showed the American telling playing partner Dustin Johnson and a tournament official: ''We should never even have started.''

Some fans who have had bought tickets for Sunday, expecting to see the final stages of the tournament, were unhappy.

Dave Walker wrote on Twitter: ''Absolute disgrace! Us amateurs putt on all sorts, tell the overpaid professionals to get on with it!''

The tournament was been caught up in a summer storm sweeping Scotland.

Flash-flooding left hundreds of homes without power in Perthshire on Friday and Saturday, with dozens of properties in the village of Alyth evacuated and several motorists rescued from their vehicles as water rushed down the streets.

Some cars were left piled on top of each other in the village when the water cleared, while campers at an island music festival also had to be evacuated because of high winds on Friday.

People at the Tiree Music Festival were sheltered in schools, the island airport and homes on the Hebridean island.