James Busby's PGA European Tour debut delayed by downpour
Shropshire golfer James Busby's debut on the PGA European Tour was held up by torrential rain in South Africa today.
He was due to tee off this morning in the Nelson Mandela Championship, but the waterlogged fairways at the Royal Durban Golf Club have forced organisers to put back the start until tomorrow morning.
Busby, 30, from?Telford, booked his place among the European elite after emerging from the field of the Challenge Tour and he will line up against home favourite Branden Grace, who also stepped up from the Challenge circuit five years ago, when the £1m purse event does finally get under way.
European Tour tournament director Mikael Eriksson says the course had been expected to dry out in time for today's start, but further rain dashed their hopes. But he stresses the tournament, the first of the 2013 calendar, will not be cut back.
"We tried early this morning to shorten the golf course and made a couple of par fours into par threes, one par five into a par three in an attempt to start, but with the additional rain it didn't work out," said Eriksson. "But if we start on Friday we are still hoping to get 72 holes in. The tees and greens are not a problem, it's the fairways."