Ryder Cup finale held up by rain

38th Ryder Cup
Venue: Celtic Manor, Newport Date: 1-3 October
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live & online, live text commentary online & daily highlights on BBC TWO. Live on Sky Sports 1 BBC leaderboard / rydercup.com leaderboard

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Sunday's play in the Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States has been suspended until at least 1200 BST because of heavy rain at Celtic Manor.

A Monday finish looks increasingly likely with the weather already wiping out seven hours on the opening day.

Europe trail 4-6 but currently lead in the two foursomes and four fourballs still to be completed after a battling display on Saturday afternoon.

Chief referee John Paramor said: "It looks like we will be playing Monday."

The Welsh course was left waterlogged after overnight rain and with play due to start at 0745 thousands of spectators were not allowed to enter the course for safety reasons and left waiting in cars and the park and ride zones.

With six matches in the already delayed third session still to finish, followed by 12 singles, stretching into a fourth day looks a certainty which would be an unprecedented move in the tournament's 83-year history.

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BBC Sport's Rob Hodgetts said: "Rivers of water are running down the 18th fairway and the green is becoming one large pool."

With a further statement from the organisers not due until 1100 BST, the players have been swiftly transported back to the hotels from the course.

The heavy rain is expected to clear by 1030 BST and Paramor told Sky Sports: "We will probably need an hour or an hour-and-a-half to push some water away from the golf course and make it playable again."

It is a hugely frustrating scenario for everybody involved, with the match still delicately poised despite the stirring efforts of Colin Montgomerie's European team on Saturday.

Following the rain-hit first day on Friday, Corey Pavin's US team were quickest out of the blocks and led 2½-1½ after the opening fourballs, before extending that to 6-4 in the expanded foursomes session.

But as Montgomerie demanded "more passion" from his players, Europe hit back in the fading light on Saturday to be up in all six matches , two foursomes and four fourballs, when play ended at 1845 BST.

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, Europe's outstanding performers, are four up on Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker with nine holes left to play, while in the final foursomes Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are three up on Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan after seven.

Europe's Padraig Harrington and Ross Fisher are one up after seven in the top fourballs against Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson, with Peter Henson and Miguel Angel Jimenez two up on Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton after six.

Francesco Molinari and brother Edoardo are two up on Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar, while Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer are two up on Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler after four.

The very nature of this competition means that Pavin's players can easily turn these matches around but the momentum is currently sitting very much with Europe.

On Saturday evening, Montgomerie said: "It's been a superb session from the moment we set off.

"None of these games are finished but we're in a very, very strong position suddenly. It was not going well at lunchtime, it was a bit stale, but I asked for more passion and they showed it."

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