Play was stopped twice by haar — the sea fog that rolls in off Scotland's east coast — during the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open, before officials finally confirmed the last group on the course wouldn't be finishing their round on Saturday at all.

But J.J. Spaun, who tee'd up at 9:28 a.m. local time and shot a three-under 67 on Saturday, thought the delay could have come earlier than it did.

"You could barely see that bunker down the left about 300 yards," Spaun said, as per Golf.com, describing the opening tee shot as borderline playable at best.

He added that the first four holes were manageable, but by the time his group reached the fifth, conditions had made continuing pointless.

So why did it take until 10:45 a.m. — more than an hour after Spaun's group teed off half-blind — for officials to actually stop play?

Tournament Director Miguel Vidaor explained the standard in a video posted by the DP World Tour.

“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,” Vidaor said in a video posted by DP World Tour on X.

According to the R&A, the same framework is used to decide when to suspend play for lightning or strong wind. Specifically regarding visibility, once players can no longer see the landing area or read the line of a putt on the green, play should be stopped.

“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,” Vidaor added.

Vidaor said conditions held up until roughly 10:20 a.m., when the fog thickened noticeably on the higher parts of the course. It affected particularly around holes five through seven.

Players were held on the course for about 25 minutes before officials made the call. Then they shuttled back to the clubhouse once the suspension was official.

It wasn't the last stoppage of the day, though.

How the Field Handled the Haar

Play resumed at 1:10 p.m., pushing the entire day's schedule back by more than two and a half hours.

But the fog wasn't finished. As the leaders teed off in the evening, it rolled back in, and play was suspended again around 7:55 p.m. — this time for the rest of the night.

But even with the delays, a few players found a way to thrive. Michael Thorbjornsen was the best example. He came into the day at 6 under after rounds of 66 and 68. Then he made five birdies in his first 13 holes to reach 11 under and share the lead with Matt Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick did the same and got himself to 11 under. Fitzpatrick's playing partner, co-36-hole leader Rory McIlroy, had the opposite experience. McIlroy made three bogeys across his first eight holes before the fog shut things down for the night.

"It's been a long day, the fog didn't help," McIlroy told the DP World Tour after his round, as per the same report by Golf.com.

Viktor Hovland also had to grind through the early fog. He opened two over through four holes.

“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, per Golf.com. “I actually hit some lovely shots.”

Now, the third round will resume at 7 a.m. local time Sunday, with the fourth round set to begin no earlier than 10:15 a.m, according to PGA Tour.com.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Koushik Biswas