Dunhill Links cut to 54 holes after Storm Amy disrupts third round as Andy Murray has say on Bob MacIntyre

Play in the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship started in a shotgun format at all three venues used for the $5 million DP World Tour pro-am at 12.30pm, only for the klaxon to be sounded just 20 minutes later.

An announcement was then made at 2.38pm that play had been abandoned for the day, with the third round starting afresh at 9am on Sunday and it will also be the final round after a decision was made to curtail the event to 54 holes - just the second time that has happened in its history.

“Following consultation with IMG, Alfred Dunhill and the DP World Tour, the decision has been made to reduce this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to 54 holes,” said Mikael Eriksson, the tournament director, in a statement issued around 4.30pm.

“We attempted to begin the third round this afternoon, but shortly after play started wind gusts of 56mph were recorded, which resulted in play being suspended. Conditions for the remainder of the day gave us no option but to cancel the third round, which will start afresh on Sunday morning.”

Though admission is free on the first three days, it all added up to a frustrating day for the fans who had made their way to St Andrews in particular to see Bob MacIntyre head out in a share of the halfway lead in his bid to emulate Paul Lawrie (2001), Stephen Gallacher (2004) and Colin Montgomerie (2005) by lifting this title.

It had been apparent all week that Storm Amy, the first storm of the season, would cause disruption to what is the 40th edition of a Dunhill-supported tournament in St Andrews - first as the Alfred Dunhill Cup then, over the past 24 years, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Around lunchtime on Friday, it started to rain on the east coast, prompting a mass exodus of cars from Kingsbarns as fans who’d headed there to see the big guns in action in the second round decided to leave and be back in the safety and comfort of their homes before the real bad stuff arrived.

Play went on until 4.14pm, by which time all three courses had become unplayable, with Scot Craig Connelly, who caddies for Martin Kaymer, claiming that it had been “poor decision making” on what he described as being “easily the wildest and wettest day I’ve ever had on a golf course”.

The players who hadn’t finished the second round on Friday afternoon returned early on Saturday morning, by which time the worst of Storm Amy had moved off to the north and, on that basis, it was obviously felt that it would have been possible to “give the third round a go” later in the day.

A meeting between the event’s organisers - Ricemont, Dunhill’s parent company, promoter IMG and the DP World Tour - was held at noon to discuss the up-to-date situation and, at that point, it was decided that play could start on schedule. Shortly afterwards, though, the wind had gusted up to 56mph and, with no prospect of it dropping considerably in a short period of time, play was soon halted before then being scrapped for the day.

That left the players, including their amateur partners, scampering to their hotels to warm up while glum-faced fans either headed home again or were off to some of the local hostelries, meaning the Dunveygan, for instance, was more packed than ever on a Saturday afternoon.

Glasses will be raised around Scotland on Sunday night if MacIntyre can land this title in his first appearance since becoming a two-time Ryder Cup winner in New York last Sunday, with Matthew Fitzpatrick, one of his team-mates, having a a bit of fun when he was asked this week what he felt the Oban man brought to the European team room. “His pasty skin and lots of sun cream,” quipped the Yorkshireman of the Scot’s pale complexion.

Like lots of others, though, Fitzpatrick is a big fan. “I love Bob,” he confessed, smiling. “One of he most fantastic things about him is that he is so down-to-earth. We were sat next to each other at the official dinner on the Tuesday evening at Bethpage and had a right good laugh. When they served what was a beautiful meal, we looked at each other and smiled in recognition of the fact that it wasn’t the sort of food we grew up eating.

“Besides his sense of humour and the fact that he’s a good laugh, I love Bob’s attitude. He’s a winner and will fight right to the very end, and when you have someone alongside you who shares your beliefs it’s a huge advantage. Until I saw clips on his Instagram, I hadn’t realised he had been blowing kisses (as he did on the 12th green in Saturday morning’s foursomes) to the crowd but that sums Bob up.”

Having played in the same group as MacIntyre at Kingsbarns on Friday, Andy Murray would love to see his compatriot win for a second time on home soil after achieving one of his career goals when landing the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club last summer.

“I love it,” said two-time Wimbledon winner Murray of seeing MacIntyre now being the sportsperson getting Scottish people off their seats and shouting for him. “I got a chance to play with him at Wentworth (in last year’s BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am) and I follow what he’s doing. I’m always cheering him on. He’s doing unbelievably well. He’s had some great results. He’s doing great. I’m sure he’ll keep going.”