Second day of rain delays Mandela Championship

Overnight rains yet again halted the start of the first round of the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship at the Royal Durban Golf Club on Friday.

The first round is now scheduled for Saturday

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 7, 2012 (AFP) - "The further overnight rain ... and a huge thunderstorm has obviously set us back by a long way now," said European Tour director Mikael Eriksson.

"Every fairway is almost completely under water now and there is no chance we will be able to play at all on Friday."

Waterlogged courses delayed tee off on Thursday as well and the first round had been moved to Friday.

The one-million-euro ($1.3-million) tournament - the first of the European Tour season - is co-presented by South Africa's Sunshine Tour at the par-72, 6115-metre course.

The first round is now scheduled for Saturday 06:30 am local time (0430 GMT).

Extra pumps and staff will try to clear the waterway before then, but weather forecasts suggested more downpours Friday afternoon.

The tournament is named after South Africa's first black president and Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela, who spent almost three decades in prison for his fight against the apartheid government.