‘Borderline’: Timing of Scottish Open fog delay spotlights interesting golf rule

When J.J. Spaun put his tee in the ground at 9:28 a.m. local time in Scotland on Saturday, he could barely see his target.

With the Scottish haar rolling in off the ocean, visibility was poor at a fog-covered Renaissance Club as the third round began. Spaun, who was in the third group off alongside Adam Scott, peered out over the first hole, barely clocked his target line, and let his tee shot fly into the Scottish fog. Five holes later, when Spaun and Scott reached the fifth hole at a higher point on the property, play at the Scottish Open was officially paused for fog.

The delay lasted two and a half hours, but Spaun thinks they probably could’ve called play earlier given what he faced on the first hole.

“Yeah, I think the first tee shot was borderline,” Spaun, who shot a three-under 67 on Saturday, said after his round when asked if the delay should’ve come sooner. “You could barely see that bunker down the left about 300 yards. It’s just hard to picture the hole when you can’t even see 300 yards out. But the first four holes it was OK. But then once we got to five, there was no chance.”

So why, with the fog rolling in early in Scotland, was play not stopped until 10:45 a.m. local time? The timing of the delay highlights an interesting rule. While many golfers might assume the rules require players to see their ball land, that’s not the case. Players just have to be able to make out the proper landing area.

“It has been playable all morning, marginal. The rule is players are not necessarily entitled to see the ball landing or the flight of the ball,” Genesis Scottish Open Tournament Director Miguel Vidaor said in a video posted by the DP World Tour. “However, for example, they need — for a tee shot on a par 4 or par 5 — they need to be able to see the contours of the bunkers or any penalty area or the tree line. For an approach shot, it’s bunkers around the green and obviously the pin flag.”

Per the R&A, suspension for visibility is left to the tournament committee, but it is recommended that it be stopped once the “landing area” is no longer visible or the contours that allow players to make it out are no longer visible.

It is recommended that, if landing areas are no longer visible to players (for example, due to fog or darkness), play should be suspended. Similarly, if players are unable to read the line of play on a putting green due to a lack of visibility, play should be suspended.

Vidaor said that play was OK until around 10:20 when the fog came in thicker, especially at the higher part of the property. Players were initially held in place for 20 minutes, then shuttled back to the clubhouse once play was officially suspended.

Spaun and those with the earliest tee times were allowed to start because, while visibility was low, players could still barely make out the contours of the penalty areas off the tee box.

Playing the opening holes at the Renaissance in a north wind is difficult on a normal morning. Add in the moisture and the fog and Spaun, Scott and the early risers were greeted by a brutal opening stretch that beat up Viktor Hovland (two over through four), Eugenio Chacarra (two over through four) and Scott (one over through four).

“Got off to a rough start this morning. It was hard to see the flag and where the ball was going,” Hovland said after his round. “I actually hit some lovely shots.”

Spaun was able to navigate the foggy opening stretch at even before the horn blew.

“It was tough. The first four holes is no cupcake,” Spaun said. “I feel like, with the north wind. So it played very long, very wet. It was just hard to see, even. To get through the first four holes at even par was a win for me.”

With tee times pushed back two and a half hours, the leaders, including Rory McIlroy, will be chasing daylight to finish their third round on Saturday.

“It’s been a long day, the fog didn’t help,” McIlroy told the DP World Tour before teeing off. “But yeah, you know, these long summer nights, hopefully we can get it in, and there’s no carryover going into tomorrow.”

And if there is carryover, McIlroy and those with Scottish title dreams will need to hope the fog stays away so they can finish the tournament on time and turn their full attention to next week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale as the sun sets over Scotland on Sunday night.