The MCB Tour Championship at Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius was called off due to rain.
After two long years of cancellations and near-starts, the tournament got underway on Friday.
A mere hour and 10 minutes later, play was suspended due to heavy rain and this set the tone for the next 24 hours.
Some players only managed four holes on day one and most of the field did not manage to play nine holes.
Heavy overnight rain kept the water table high on the Legend course and when play resumed at 8:15am on Saturday it was in the knowledge that any further rain would wreak havoc.
When the skies once again opened at 9am, players were called off for the third and final time.
Incessant rain continued throughout the day and at 4pm a very tough decision was made by the Legends Tour committee to call the event off.
“When you can’t find a dry spot on the fairways then the course becomes unplayable,” said Chris Williams. “In the end, the guys are playing for money and trying to make a living so the course needs to be playable.”
The Order of Merit had yet to be decided, with Stephen Dodd closely followed by Thomas Levet, Markus Brier and James Kingston.
Players were also playing in the hope of getting into events like the US Open based on their position on the Order of Merit or simply retaining their playing privileges.
“It is what it is and nothing can be done about it”, said England’s Peter Wilson, who was hoping to move into the top 10 on the Order of Merit to make it into the US Open, which he now missed by one position.
Title sponsor Mauritius Commercial Bank was hugely generous in paying each player €4,000 and the tournament will return to the beautiful Constance Belle Mare Plage in December.
By Mark Sampson
