Weather hits Masters yet again

Thunderstorms continued to batter the year's first major on Friday, soaking fans and leaving golfers braced for a possible Monday finish.

Rather than triggering the usual fretting and hand wringing, the crack of lightning and torrential rains that forced a suspension of play on Friday were greeted with a dismissive shrug by officials, fans and golfers, weather delays being par for the course on the PGA Tour this year.

In one of the wettest starts ever to the PGA Tour, nine out of 15 events have been hammered by inclement weather.

The two events leading up to the Masters, the BellSouth and Players Championships were both pushed into Monday finishes because of rain while the Nissan Open in Los Angeles became the first PGA Tour event in nine years to crown a winner after only 36 holes.

"We're getting more used to this starting and stopping," said Britain's Luke Donald, who sat top of the leaderboard with compatriot David Howell and American Chris DiMarco at five under when second-round play was halted.

"It's been this way for most of the year, but I'm not sure if you learn anything.

"You know, I try and kind of switch my brain off when I'm on a break, not try to think of anything, and then, you know, when it's time to go just to be ready, and that's what I've been working on this week.

"I just try not to get too entangled with the players talking about the weather and the golf and what they have been doing. I just try to find a quiet corner and get away from it."

Although this is the third time in the last four years second-round play at Augusta National has spilled over into the Saturday, the weekend forecast is favourable with mainly dry conditions expected.

Six of the last seven editions have been hit by rain but a Monday finish has not been needed at Augusta National since 1983, when Spaniard Seve Ballesteros won his second title in four years.

While golfers have developed well-practiced routines to deal with delays, unprepared mud splattered fans were left scrambling for cover as rain turned the picturesque Augusta National Golf Club into a swampy, smelly quagmire.

But even among the players, some have become more skilled at killing time than others.

"Several of us were just hanging around upstairs in the clubhouse when they came up at 3:20 and said they'd make an announcement at 4:30," said six-times Masters champion Jack Nicklaus. "All the young guys jumped up and rushed to the practice tee.

"(Ray) Floyd, (Tom) Watson, (Gary) Player and I were all watching TV, we knew we would possibly play or maybe not, but we don't need an hour and a half to warm up."

However, perhaps the people best able to deal with delays at Augusta this week are the least experienced, the four amateurs who call the Crows Nest on top of the clubhouse home during the tournament.

"It's not frustrating but it is what it is, I can't control the weather," said top amateur Ryan Moore of the United States. "I'm pretty lucky, I'm staying up in the Crow's Nest so I just go up there relax a little bit and watch some television.

"I've had a couple of the guys ask me if there are any extra beds up there."