The third edition of the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic has been reduced to 54 holes after bad weather caused almost 10 hours of play to be lost over the past three days, organizers said yesterday.
With thunderstorms and threats of bad lighting forcing play to be suspended twice, officials were left with no choice but to abandon play for the day.
“The tournament has been affected by several lengthy delays and suspensions due to inclement weather throughout the week,” said Fritz Katzengruber, tournament director of Asian Tour. “As a result of the delays and the disruptions that we have suffered, we have taken the decision to reduce the tournament to 54 holes.”
Photo: AFP / Paul Lakatos / Asian Tour
Malaysia’s Shaaban Hussin only managed to finish his second round with a flawless five-under 65 and was among 12 players yet to tee off.
He heads into the final round with a one-shot lead over the US’ David Lipsky, Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka and Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, who are a further shot back on matching 132s.
Shaaban appeared undeterred by the changes and said he was ready for the week’s challenges.
“I think for professional golfers like us, we should be prepared for anything that may happen during the tournament. I just have to focus on my game,” he said.
Lipsky, who is searching for his second Asian Tour win in two months, is also focused on another grandstand finish despite the reduction in the number of holes.
“Ideally, I would like to play 72 holes, but we’ve no control over the weather and I’m just going out there to prove that I can play my best this week.”
The rookie earned his career breakthrough at the Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic last month.
Taiwan’s Lu Wei-chih completed the first hole before play was called off, grabbing par, to remain at six-under for the tournament. His compatriot Hsu Mong-nan, meanwhile, sits at one-under on the tournament, having hit one-over in his two holes of play before his day ended.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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