The Dutch Senior Open’s Tournament Director Derrick Cooper has stated that the course could never have been playable due to the flooding on the course and forecasted rain as the players agreed with the decision to cancel play on the final day.
The overnight rain had already caused heavy flooding by the time the referees arrived on site in the morning and, despite the tireless efforts of the green staff on a course which had, until that point, stood firm in the face of bad conditions, things got to a point of no return.
“The majority of the fairways were under water this morning,” explained Cooper, a former European Tour player. “There were a few patches that you could maybe get relief but they were on little crests and undulations.
“It really didn’t give a fair playing surface for all. The referees were taking the ball off the fairways into the rough to check out a preferred lie option but that’s just not ideal.
“It kept raining then and the bunkers were washing down and it was impossible to keep the sand in the faces. The long-range forecast for the rest of the day was more rain which we have seen as the day has gone on.
“Given the forecast and the amount of water we have had overnight, the course could never have been playable.”
The players, including Ross Drummond – who was two shots off the lead and chasing a maiden Senior Tour title - were in agreement with the decision.
“The weather is terrible and the golf course wasn’t playable,” he said. “If it had been playable, even in the wind and rain, I'm sure we would have been out there so these decisions are made for us and we have no influence over it. But playing golf in conditions like this can be so difficult, especially when you’re in contention.
“Everybody would have been having trouble and it would have been bad for the tournament if we were all out there struggling for bogeys, never mind pars.”
