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The opening day’s play at the European Masters in Crans-Montana has been suspended after heavy fog engulfed the course.
The DP World Tour event had begun in far from ideal conditions on Thursday morning with those with early tee times forced to play several shots unsighted on the Swiss course.
Having already suspended play once earlier with the course shrouded in cloud., organisers subsequently took the decision to halt proceedings more fully with the first few groups having completed only five holes.
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Heavy fog has hit the European Masters (Getty Images)
The first round eventually resumed at 3pm local time (2pm BST) with parts of the course shrouded in cloud. Forecast afternoon rain could yet provide more problems for both players and organisers with a strong field assembled in Switzerland frustrated by the delay.
Ryder Cup hopefuls including the Hojgaard twins, Marco Penge and Aaron Rai are among those competing with South Africa’s Brandon Stone taking an early lead with two birdies through his first three holes.
The event is held at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, which sits at an altitude of 1,500m in the Swiss Alps. England’s Matt Wallace is the defending champion with Matt Fitzpatrick and Danny Willett among the other past winners in the field.
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Matt Fitzpatrick was among the early starters in Switzerland (AP)
The tournament is the final chance for prospective Ryder Cuppers to impress Luke Donald, with the Europe captain set to reveal his captain’s picks on Monday.
