US Women’s Open final round suspended

RAIN forced play to be suspended on Sunday shortly after the final round of the US Women’s Open began.

Therefore, a champion will be determined on Monday when competition in the final major championship of the year resumes at Champions Golf Club’s Cypress Creek course in Houston.

The leaders were unable to tee off as thunderstorms moved in on the golf course.

Japan’s Hinako Shibuno, who led after the second and third rounds, holds a 1-shot lead over Amy Olson. Shibuno sits at 4-under-par 209 for three rounds.

Twenty-four of the golfers didn’t start their rounds Sunday, or failed to record at least one hole finished. More inclement weather was anticipated when the decision was made to halt play for the rest of the day.

Play was suspended in the morning because of dangerous weather. Even before that, final-round tee times had been adjusted following Saturday’s third round because of weather-related concerns, meaning some golfers began on No. 10 for the final round.

The suspension didn’t come as a surprise for some of the golfers. The conditions were a topic following Saturday’s play.

“I’m not necessarily sure,” Olson said regarding the potential conditions. “Probably, playing long favors me, but I just want it to play fair. That’s kind of the ultimate hope and generally, the US Open does that.”

Only four golfers started the final day with an under-par score for the tournament — and none of those golfers hit a shot Sunday. Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and Korea’s Ji Yeong Kim2 will begin final-round play at 1 under.

The most golf played Sunday was six holes, with two entrants making it one-third of the way through their rounds.

Gabriela Ruffels of Australia and Seon Woo Bae of Korea were 2 under in play Sunday for the best scores to that point, completing four and five holes, respectively. But they’re among the group tied for 25^th place at 4 over. — Reuters