Open 2015 to finish on Monday after weather delays

The Open Championship at St Andrews will finish on Monday because of weather delays on Friday and Saturday.

It is the second time in the event's 155-year history that play will run to Monday, the first being in 1988.

With 40mph gusts of wind, play was suspended at 07:32 BST on Saturday and is expected to resume at 18:00.

Governing body the R&A tweeted: "The intention is to complete the second round today with R3 to be played on Sunday and the final round on Monday."

Tickets for Saturday are eligible for a 60% refund, while week-long passes remain valid for Monday - where the on-the-day entry fee will be £10 and under-16s will enter for free with an adult.

More than 40 players resumed at 07:00 BST on Saturday after heavy rain on Friday had prevented the completion of round two on the Old Course.

Overnight leader Dustin Johnson of the USA bogeyed one of the two holes he completed to join England's clubhouse leader Danny Willett on nine under par.

World number two Jordan Spieth, who is five under par, four shots off the lead, criticised the decision, saying: "We should never have started."

The 21-year-old Masters and US Open champion was heard making his comment while on the course. The American added two pars to his scorecard before the enforced break.

The R&A says it made the right decision in sending out the players.

"We spent an hour at the far end of the course, before play started, assessing whether the course was playable," said an R&A statement.

"Balls were not moving on the greens and while the conditions were extremely difficult, we considered the golf course to be playable.

"Gusts of wind increased in speed by 10-15% after play resumed. This could not be foreseen at the time that play was restarted and made a material difference to the playability of the golf course."

Other players, including England's Lee Westwood, also complained about the handling of the decision by the R&A.

"Bit of a strange decision here at The Open," tweeted Westwood, who was three under when he came off the 16th hole. "They seemed to stop play out on 11 and allowed the rest of us to carry on playing."

Canada's David Hearn, one of the players on the 11th, added: "More than disappointed in the R&A. Some groups hit only one shot while others played on. It needs to be a fair contest and wasn't this morning."

The Open has not finished on a Monday since 1988 when Seve Ballesteros won the title at Lytham

"This will have massive implications for the players, the fans and broadcasters all around the world," said BBC Sport commentator Jay Townsend, who is a former PGA Tour professional.

"The players are really upset that they were sent out there in what they feel were unplayable conditions.

"But these guys have dealt with these things before and they are programmed to play as and when required.

"Despite not being happy they are mentally geared up to play."

Tiger Woods saw the funny side after his scorecard was blown away in the gusty winds

Wind speeds of 47mph were reported about 10:00 BST on the Old Course

R&A officials used anemometers to check wind speed before the 07:00 BST start