ST. ANDREWS, Scotland: High winds led to an early halt to play in the third round at the Women’s British Open over the Old Course, St. Andrews on Saturday.

With gusts of up to 56mph sweeping the course the players were taken off at 12:30 (1130GMT) and play was finally called off for the day at 18:00 (1700GMT).

The championship will resume at 6.15am (0715GMT) on Sunday and the remainder of the third round and the fourth rounds will be on the same day.

It’s the second year in a row that the Women’s Open has been jinxed by bad weather.

Last year at Hoylake in England the whole of Friday’s play was wiped out by wind.

The organizers still managed to get the championship completed by the Sunday evening — but only just.

Thirty-six holes were packed into the final day that was blighted by torrential rain and wind.

South Korea’s Choi Na Yeon, one ahead of the field overnight on 10 under par, will now have to play 36 holes in one day.

Eleven players managed to finish their third rounds before the wind reached its peak and American Cristie Kerr and New Zealand amateur Lydia Ko posted the best scores of 75. They are both on four over par.

Twenty-six groups started and the only player who managed to keep a bogey off her card was the history-chasing Inbee Park.

The South Korean is aiming to become the first golfer to win four majors in one calendar year and she began the third round eight shots behind Choi.

She squeezed in four holes before the suspension and picked up a birdie at the third to move to three under par.