The Royal and Ancient Golf Club explained its decision to start play at the British Open on Saturday amid strong winds after criticism from the likes of Jordan Spieth.
Masters and U.S. Open champion Spieth was among about 40 players that did not complete the second round on Friday after torrential rain caused a lengthy delay at St. Andrews, Scotland. He and the others were due to finish up the round on Saturday before starting the third round.
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However, gushes up to 40 mph caused havoc. As balls were blown across greens, organizers suspended play at 7:32 a.m. local time, 2:32 ET, about 30 minutes after play began.
Spieth, who maintained his overnight score of 5-under par, was heard saying as he came off the 16th tee: "We should never have started."
The R&A, though, said conditions worsened after its members' initial assessment.
Wind speeds have still not dropped to acceptable levels, and the intention is to resume play at 5pm. A further update will be issued at 4pm.
— The R&A (@RandA) July 18, 2015The wind is still very strong but is starting to reduce in speed. We hope to resume at 5.30pm and will issue a further update at 4.30pm.
— The R&A (@RandA) July 18, 2015The wind speed has still not reached acceptable levels. We hope to resume at 6pm and will issue a further update at 5pm.
— The R&A (@RandA) July 18, 2015"We spent an hour at the far end of the course, before play started, assessing whether the course was playable," a statement read. "Balls were not moving on the greens and while the conditions were extremely difficult, we considered the golf course to be playable.
"Gusts of wind increased in speed by 10 to 15 percent after play resumed. This could not be foreseen at the time that play was restarted and made a material difference to the playability of the golf course."
Spieth was not the only one disappointed with by the decision. Others voiced concerns that some players continued their rounds while others were brought off the course.
Lee Westwood wrote on Twitter: "Bit of a strange decision here at The Open. They seemed to stop play out on 11 and allowed the rest of us to carry on playing."
The R&A later announced Round 3 of the tournament would be played Sunday with the final round taking place Monday.
Former PGA Tour professional Jay Townsend said players were unhappy with the situation, but that they will prepare themselves for any eventuality.
"The players are really upset that they were sent out there in what they feel were unplayable conditions," Townsend said in his role as a BBC Sport commentator.
"But these guys have dealt with these things before and they are programmed to play as and when required. Despite not being happy they are mentally geared up to play."