Gosling’s delayed
The Gosling’s Invitational could drag into a fifth day after heavy rain and thunderstorms brought a premature end to the third round with several groups still stuck out on the course.Yesterday’s bad weather had already caused a 45 minute suspension in the round when tournament director Alex Madeiros hauled the players off for good just after 4pm.With the leaders still yet to complete nine holes everyone will return to the golf course this morning where the third round will resume at 7am and the players will race the light to try and complete the tournament in time with several groups having to play 27 holes today.“The first ball will be in the air at 7am for those who need to finish their third round,” said Madeiros. “For the rest the tee times from the third round will remain the same for the fourth round, and they’ll stay in the same groups.“When the third round is finished I’ll give them their next score card and off they’ll go. That way they should finish on time and have about 40 minutes to get something to eat before starting their fourth round.”For the likes of co-leaders Joe Horowitz, Anthony Mocklow, Matt Hoffman, Kirk Hanefeld and Billy Walsh, who all began yesterday on two-under, it means a straight race to the line. Jordan Mitchell, the Bermuda Open winner, meanwhile is still out on the course at level-par, while PH Horgan III picked up a shot and is one-over with several holes of his third round still to play.“It’s going to be a fairly hectic day for everyone,” said Madeiros. “It’s going to be a tough day, a rough day.”Horowitz is no stranger to finishing the Gosling’s in the dark, three years ago he and Mike Donald battled themselves to a standstill in a play-off that was ended by a lack of light and saw them share the trophy.Organisers are not likely to let that happen this time around and is already making plans for a Friday morning finish if necessary. The forecast for today should allow the tournament to be completed, but Madeiros is prepared for every eventuality.“We should be fine, it’s not going to be like today (Wednesday),” he said. “If I can get the third round in that’s great, at worst it’ll become a 54 hole tournament. If there is a lack of light tomorrow then a play-off would be Friday morning.”