Players unhappy with Volvo Masters scheduling

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SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) -- The four Order of Merit contenders were far from pleased over the scheduling Saturday at the Volvo Masters after the 57-man field finally completed the rain-delayed second round.

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Padraig Harrington struggled with the weather in the second round, eventually finishing at 5 over.

Only three players finished on Friday before torrential rain forced organizers to suspend play. With officials looking to get at least 54 holes in with rain still falling Saturday and expected for Sunday, players couldn't understand why officials waited to redraw pairings rather than send players out straight away after their completed second rounds.

"The weather has not been kind, and I certainly need two more rounds," said Padraig Harrington, who needs a top-two finish to have any chance of catching Order of Merit leader Robert Karlsson.

Harrington played 13 holes Friday and eventually shot 71 to be 5 over -- nine shots behind second-place Lee Westwood, also an Order of Merit contender.

Karlsson, who can become the first Swede to lift the Harry Vardon trophy with a victory at Valdarrama, said Friday's conditions were not unplayable but still "ridiculous."

"We were just made to look like fools," Karlsson said. "But you can't really criticize. As long as we're out there, then it's up to us to keep playing."

Miguel Angel Jimenez blasted officials Friday after starting with a disastrous 7 over after four holes that would eventually leave the Order of Merit longshot 16-shots behind leader Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark.

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DATE WITH A DOCTOR
Lee Westwood is hoping the weather holds so that the Volvo Masters can wrap up on Sunday as the Englishman has a surgery appointment to make the next day.

Westwood, who needs a top-two finish to have any chance of winning his second Order of Merit trophy, will have his tonsils removed on Monday after 15 to 20 attacks of tonsillitis in the past three years. He said he had been forced to pull out of three tournaments as a result.

The 35-year-old Westwood, among a group of three players to trail leader Soren Kjeldsen by two shots, was already looking forward to the recovery process.

"That'll do me, ice cream and jelly and all that," he said.

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ROSE PULLS OUT
Justin Rose withdrew from the HSBC Champions event on Saturday, a day after his grandfather Donald died.

The 28-year-old Rose pulled out from the Volvo Masters on Friday to fly to South Africa to be with his family. He then decided to skip the Nov. 6-9 event at Shanghai.

Rose, who won at Valdarrama last year to take the Order of Merit title, had been last in the 57-man field after failing to break 80 in successive rounds for the first time in his career.