Snow joke at World Match Play

Snowball fights took over from birdie blitzes as heavy snowfall forced play to be suspended in the first round of the Accenture Match Play in Arizona.

World No 1 Rory McIlroy and pal Shane Lowry never managed to get out of the clubhouse as two inches of snow blanketed the desert course at Dove Mountain while Pádraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell only got as far as the first green in their desert showdown.

“The weather is officially ridiculous!” McIlroy tweeted.