IF, ON a day such as this, Captain Cook had discovered Sydney harbour, he would undoubtedly have sailed right by. Sydney, so often for the sybaritic, yesterday showed the nasty side of its nature, producing, for the second round of the Australian Open, a day of unremitting rain, combined with a chill factor that numbed the fingers.
No wonder that an experienced campaigner like Rodger Davis declared that the last time he had been as cold on a golf course was the 1986 Open championship at Turnberry.
In the circumstances, it was little surprise to find a Swedish ice-hockey player in contention for the title although as Klas Eriksson came here to escape his country's winter he could be forgiven for being peeved at having to cope with something similar 12,600 miles away. It actually snowed in Canberra, just over 200 miles away.
Neither Eriksson, nor the other main challenger for the title, Greg Norman, finished the rain-plagued round, Norman being five under after 16 holes at The Australian, Eriksson four under after 15 when darkness fell.
The leader in the clubhouse was the Dutch player, Rolf Muntz, at two under, while Tiger Woods returned a level par 72, to be seven over and almost certainly make the cut. Altogether 39 players were left with various numbers of holes to complete today. Ireland's Paul McGinley is among them but, despite the atrocious conditions, he held his round together well yesterday for the 13 holes he played, being level par and four over for the tournament.
"I thought I left home to get away from this weather," said McGinley, who recorded two birdies and an equal number of bogeys yesterday. "Today was really just a matter of keeping your patience and that's what I did."
"I have a few chances for birdies over the few holes I have to play tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get my score under par before beginning the third round," concluded the Dubliner.
Both Eriksson and Norman were level par for the day and were two of only five players to be under par on what is a demanding course at the best of times, and yesterday verged on the impossible as players fought high winds, driving rain and an unseasonable temperature.
Rolf Muntz, who was the first golfer from Holland to win the British Amateur Championship, in 1990, but who has struggled as a professional, was one of the rare players able to equal his opening round, moving to two under with a second 71. Muntz finished 63rd n the European rankings this year.