Golf: Two-hour fog delay at Carnoustie

Britain's richest ever golf event, the Dunhill Links Championship, got off to an inauspicious start as fog, wind and rain held up the first round on all three courses.

After a two-hour delay at Carnoustie, scene of horror stories galore in the 1999 Open, Darren Clarke fired his opening drive 100 yards off target.

"I can see this is going to be a long day," said the Ulsterman, whose hopes of winning the European Order of Merit probably rest on this week.

He had no reason to change his mind when his celebrity partner in the pro-am, Hollywood star Michael Douglas, hit his first shot low and left and watched it bounce out of bounds 20 yards away.

That drive was accompanied by a shout of "in the hole" from an upstairs window of the hotel overlooking the course.

It was from Douglas' fellow actor Samuel L Jackson, himself still waiting to tee off with Lee Westwood and because of the hold-up unlikely to finish his first round before nightfall.

Clarke's shot ran across the 16th green, but even from there he managed to find the edge of the green he was actually heading for, only to three-putt for a bogey five.

The hour delay at St Andrews and 90-minute suspension at Kingsbarns, the other course being used, threatened to give tournament organisers the logistical headache they feared - especially when the fog returned at Kingsbarns and forced play off again after two hours' play.

The championship, featuring a host of international celebrities as well as the full cast of European tour stars, splits the 312-strong field - 156 professionals each with an amateur partner - across the three courses.

There were some sterling performances coming from the amateurs in the conditions.

Former Dutch soccer star Marco van Basten was jointly leading the team event after improving three shots on his partner Patrik Sjoland's one under par outward half of 35 at St Andrews.

Alongside him on four under par were Australian Steve Elkington and country and western singer Clay Walker, who had two birdies of his own and a net birdie in the first eight holes.

Nigel Mansell had two early birdies as well partnering Pierre Fulke, but among the pros Ryder Cup Welshman Phillip Price had two double bogeys in the space of four holes and Italian Massimo Scarpa ran up a triple bogey eight on the Old Course's long 14th.