For only the second time ever The Open will finish on Monday

Several dozen players returned to the course early Saturday morning to complete the second round after a rain delay of more than three hours the previous day.

The Open Championship will have a Monday finish for only the second time in its history after high winds postponed play on Saturday. Moreover, he won the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay by one stroke over Johnson, when the 31-year-old South Carolina native three-putted on the 72nd hole. Robert Streb, who lives in Shawnee and played at Kansas State, 2 shots back with a 137.

Johnson’s playing partner Jordan Spieth, who managed to par the 14th to stay at five under, could be heard complaining that play should not have restarted.

On Saturday at St. Andrews, where Woods is poised to miss the cut at 5 over with six holes to play whenever the second round resumes, global Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was asked about the former world No. 1’s Olympic outlook. This likely will be a consecutive missed cut for Tiger at a Major tournament. “I’ll go and get a good night’s rest and get back out here tomorrow”.

Groundskeepers were forced to sweep tonnes of standing water on the opening hole into the famous Swilcan Burn as the home of golf was bucketed with rain and high winds making play impossible.

He and a host of others will be back at 7 a.m.to complete round two before striding out for round three in the afternoon. “I guess yesterday when we started the round, it was hard on the way out, and then coming back in, it even played more hard”.

Johnson dropped to 9 under, leaving him tied for the top spot with Danny Willett.

“When we considered every possibility we felt the best conclusion was to accept a Monday finish gives us the best answer”, said R&A director of rules and equipment standards, David Rickman.

Spieth three-putted for par on the 14th hole and swiped his putter in disgust as leaving two of those putts short.

Play began in brighter conditions but they soon deteriorated, with Spieth, who usually demonstrates a tranquillity on course that belies his tender years, visibly frustrated at the howling wind. “It is what it is, and if I can shoot something like 10-under in the last two rounds, I think I’ll have a chance to win”.

The fireworks were supplied by Englishman Willett, who took advantage of the calmest conditions of the day to reel off five birdies in a three-under-par round that left him on nine-under 135.

A closing bogey, one of five in a row for a round of 80, barely mattered and was instead greeted with a loud cheer as officials and players applauded from the clubhouse steps.

The last major to be decided on a Monday was the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff.