Golf: Rain delays leave Westwood on hold

Thursday 03 December 1998 00:02 GMT
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LEE WESTWOOD will lead the way when the Million Dollar Challenge is launched at the Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, South Africa, today - if the torrential rain relents. The Lincolnshire player, who, together with Colin Montgomerie, forms a two-man British representation in the 12-player event, will partner Bernhard Langer in the opening pair.

But three inches of rain fell in 14 hours yesterday, and the tournament chairman, Tobin Prior, said: "It doesn't look good for tomorrow, but we'll try to get in at least nine holes if we can. We only have six two-balls to get off, so we have the advantage there."

Tiger Woods, making his first appearance in the event, has been drawn with Jesper Parnevik. Ernie Els plays with David Duval and the other pairings are Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard, Montgomerie and Mark O'Meara and Nick Price and Tom Watson.

Price, the defending champion, has singled out O'Meara, as the greatest threat to his chance of landing a hat-trick in the event. Price was not too concerned about Woods. "Tiger can do well if he manages his game correctly, but we will see how he does in that thick kikuyu rough," he said.

The six-times major winner, Nick Faldo, will test his emergence from a golfing abyss at what has been described as a brutal course for this week's Australian Open.

Royal Adelaide, a 6,015-yard, par-73 lay-out, has been turned into a monster by Australian golf's elder statesman, Peter Thomson, whose course remodelling has been a hot topic in the lead-up to today's opening round.

Thomson has lengthened the course, added bunkers and narrowed landing zones. One local professional said of the toughened `Royal Terror': "Thomson's lost his marbles. I've got more chance of winning the lottery than staying on a fairway here."

Faldo did not agree. "I have no criticisms of the course," he said. "I think it's awesome. It's the most challenging 18 holes I've played on. The rough is very thick. In some places you can miss a fairway by a yard, and you're unplayable."

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