Staysure Tour

MCB Tour Championship - Seychelles

December 14-16

Constance Lemuria, Praslin, Seychelles

$300,000

December 14-16

Constance Lemuria, Praslin, Seychelles

$300,000

Round 1

Lehman leads weather-affected MCB Tour Championship - Seychelles

Round 2

Round 3

Round 2

Round 3

December 14, 2018

Former Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman leads the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles by one stroke after unrelenting rain forced a five hour delay at Constance Lemuria, reducing the tournament to a maximum of 48 holes.

- Getty Images

Lehman, winner of The Open Championship in 1996, started his round with a birdie and then made consecutive gains from the fourth to sixth holes, reaching four under par. He then parred the next five holes, dropping a stroke on the 12th and final hole for a three under par total.

“I’m surprised we were able to get on the golf course,” said Lehman. “It didn’t look too promising, but we managed to get out and play, and there was no lightning either – we didn’t want to sit around and do nothing.

“They did a good job of letting us know there wouldn’t be any golf until at least 14:30, so it was a relaxing morning. But when you know what the game plan might be, you reset your mind to be ready to play and it was good for everybody.

“I don’t think anybody had a number in mind, it’s so hard to know what a score is going to be on a new course.

“You never like to finish with a bogey, but the hole was playing very difficult. Over the course of a tournament, there are a lot of shots to be played and I got off to a very good start.”

Lehman leads by one stroke ahead of 2002 Ryder Cup player Phillip Price and Denmark’s Steen Tinning. One stroke further back on one under par are eight competitors, including 1991 Masters Tournament winner Ian Woosnam and two-time Senior Major Champion Roger Chapman.

Tournament Director Simon Higginbottom said: “Due to the unrelenting heavy rain we experienced at Constance Lemuria this morning, we took the decision to play the first 12 holes of the golf course in the first round of the MCB Tour Championship – Seychelles and reduce the tournament to 48 holes.

“This is to ensure that we give this year’s competitors the opportunity to play as many holes as possible at the final event of the 2018 Staysure Tour season, and we intend to play all 18 holes during the second and third rounds – weather permitting.

“We feel it would have been unsafe for our competitors to both walk the final six holes today, or drive buggies as initially intended, as the pathways were made dangerous by the weather conditions.”