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Golf-Winds drop at St Andrews but wait goes on

(Adds latest weather update) By Martyn Herman ST ANDREWS, Scotland, July 18 (Reuters) - Organisers of the 144th British Open were confident they would complete the second round of the weather-battered tournament on Saturday as strong winds gradually decreased in strength. Royal and Ancient (R&A) officials said play would resume at 6pm after a 10 and a half hour suspension of play which means the world's oldest major will finish on Monday for only the second time. "Winds are reducing in speed and forecast to reduce further over the next hour. Providing that trend continues play will resume at 6pm," a statement read. The third round will now be played on Sunday with the final 18 holes on Monday when tickets will be on sale for 10 pounds ($15.61). That is little consolation for the thousands of Saturday ticket holders who have had virtually no golf to watch, other than the TV highlights of past Opens being shown in the historic town's many pubs and bars. "The R&A were out there at 05:30 BST this morning trying to see if it was playable," former European Tour player and now TV commentator Frank Nobilo told the BBC. "Mother Nature did not oblige. In order to maintain the competitive nature of the Open championship they had a decision to make. Whichever way you look at it they were caught between a rock and a hard place," said the New Zealander. Heavy rain on Friday meant that 42 of the 156-strong field failed to complete their second rounds. They returned to their positions at 7am on Saturday but after around 30 minutes the winds, gusting to 50mph, began to move the balls on the greens. When 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen's ball began blowing wildly across the 13th green organisers called a halt. Saturday's brief early passage of play was a damaging one for leader Dustin Johnson who had returned to the edge of the 14th green which he had reached in two the previous night. A poor chip and a three-putt dropped him to a share of the lead on nine-under-par with England's Danny Willett who is safely in the clubhouse after a round of 69 on Friday. The R&A defended their decision to send the players out in the morning, saying: "Gusts of wind increased in speed by 10-15 percent after play resumed. "This could not be foreseen at the time that play restarted and made a material difference to the playability of the golf course." Johnson's playing partner Jordan Spieth, who managed to par the 14th to stay at five under, could be heard complaining that play should not have started. Winds are expected to drop on Sunday although rain is forecast for the next two days. The only time the Open has finished on a Monday was when the late Seve Ballesteros won at Royal Lytham in 1988. ($1 = 0.6407 pounds) (Editing by Tony Jimenez)