EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY WASH-OUT

The Evian Championship will start afresh on Friday and the fifth Major will now be played over 54-holes after the first day's play was washed out.

Thursday's play was suspended at 10.04am local time, as strong winds, blowing at 45 miles-per-hour, caused golf balls to move on the greens and heavy rain lashed the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-Les-Bains, France.

The early starters had enjoyed around two hours of bright and breezy weather before the conditions became dangerous and the course was evacuated.

Jessica Korda and world number one So Yeon Ryu were tied for the lead on two-under-par when play was suspended, after eight and five holes respectively. Minjee Lee, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lang a stroke behind and Georgia Hall a shot further back in a group on level par.

None of the early starters had completed nine holes and there were several attempts to resume play, but at 2.30pm, the decision was made to scrap all scores from round one and start afresh on Friday morning, with the same first-round tee times as originally scheduled for Thursday.

The tee times for rounds one and two will remain unchanged and there will now be a cut after the second round on Saturday, while the final round is due to conclude at 5pm on Sunday as planned.

Friday's forecast is for generally sunny conditions and light winds, increasing on Saturday, with the potential for more rain on Sunday afternoon.