The storm caused a minor landslide across the first fairway at Castle Stuart Play at the Scottish Open golf has been suspended due to an overnight storm, a landslip and continuing bad weather.A torrential downpour caused flooding on the Castle Stuart links course on the Moray Firth coast, near Inverness.
Organisers The European Tour said had been pushed back until at least 1900 BST due to the threat of more rain and storms.
The 78 golfers taking part in the competition will now play three rounds instead of four.
Earlier conditions were so bad that spectators were not even being given access to the site while officials assessed the situation.
Fans were advised not to travel to Castle Stuart until further notice was given.
The weather also caused power cuts at the links course.
Trees had to be cleared from the first fairway after coming down in the early hours of the morning.
Course manager Chris Haspell told the BBC he had never seen anything like it on any course in his 25 years in the business.
He said: "It is slightly disconcerting this morning but we are working as hard as we can to try and get things moving along.
"When I got in about 3.30 this morning I drove the course and everything was looking good for a good day's play.
The heavy Highland downpour started in the early hours of the morning "Then the thunder started and all hell broke loose, so to speak."
He added: "It's not the best start but we take things in our stride and the team are doing a fantastic job."
Mike Stewart, the tournament director, said: "Clearly there is a huge amount of work going on at the moment and we are optimistic that we can get some golf in later.
"We are all gutted about what's happened. It's unprecedented. But we have got to try and get things repaired and hopefully get back on track."
More showers were forecast for the rest of the day and Sunday, with an isolated thunderstorm possible overnight.
There is an option to continue the event on Monday, but that depends on the conditions, the forecast and how much golf is left to be played.
Many of the players are involved in The Open in Kent next week and a charter plane for about 30 of them has been arranged, but when it leaves has yet to be determined.
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