Heavy downpour in Johannesburg and damp conditions forced the suspension of the International Final Qualifying from Africa for the Open Championship at St Andrews.

The Royal Johannesburg and Kensington East course was declared unplayable after the overly wet weather left several fairways flooded and bunkers under water, with play now due to resume at 9am local time tomorrow (7am GMT).

However, there was still time today for some golf, with Jean Hugo's attempts to seal a place at golf's oldest major taking a knock after he dropped three shots through the opening three holes.

The overnight leader, who shot a 65 on the opening day to lead the field by two strokes on six under par, carded three consecutive bogeys before picking up a shot with a birdie on the par-five sixth to claw himself back to four under for a share of the lead with Darren Fichardt.

Both are a stroke clear of Divan van den Heever after he completed his outward nine with an impressive 33, while David Hewan and Oliver Bekker were on two under when play was called off.

The top three players with the lowest two-round total will earn a place at the 139th Open.

If organisers are unable to complete the event, the qualifiers will be decided on the basis of the best 18-hole scores.