adminAdam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and other players at this week’s Australian Open could have another course hazard to contend with: smoke from nearby bushfires.
A temperature inversion, which formed over Sydney on Monday night trapped smoke in the region on Tuesday and caused considerable haze during a practice round. Golf Australia said it plans to increase on-site medical staff if the fire-driven smog disrupts the tournament.
With a wind shift on Wednesday, the situation had improved during the pro-am, but Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt said he was concerned with the potential for smoke affecting the health of players.
“It was pretty bad yesterday, stinging eyes and all that,” Scott said after his pro-am round on Wednesday.
There were about 25 bush and grass fires burning across New South Wales state, including a large one in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. A westerly wind on Tuesday moved a lot of the smoke from that fire over Sydney. — golfchannel.com.
Bongani Ndlovu