Australian Open 2019: Players having to deal with smoke haze caused by NSW bushfires
The bushfire smoke blanketing Sydney is making for an uncomfortable day’s play at the Australian Open, with one player saying the conditions are the worst he has experienced.
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Update: Face masks might be a common sight in the most polluted cities in the world but never on Sydney’s finest golf courses, right?
Wrong!
In a scene that looked more like New Delhi or Beijing rather than Sydney’s pristine eastern suburbs, spectators at the Australian Open could hardly believe their stinging red eyes when they spotted golfer Ryan Chisnall playing his opening round wearing a white mask.
The Kiwi professional was coughing and spluttering so much in the thick smoke from the bushfires that a spectator took pity on him so offered to help him breathe a little easier and he didn’t hesitate.
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“Normally you come to Sydney and it’s beautiful and clear and playing The Australian on a nice day is always beautiful so it’s quite bizarre but obviously the fires are extremely unfortunate,” he said.
“I’ve had breathing problems for a while, asthmas and stuff like that as well, so these sort of conditions really don’t help me.
“I didn’t bring my inhaler today so that was a bit of a mission but some bloke on the 17th fairway gave me one of those masks just to put on.
“I don’t know if it helped or not but I gave it a whirl for a bit there and tried it out. I just was coughing away and he said ‘ do you want a mask?’ and I thought I’d try it and see how it went.”
Starting from the 10th tee, Chisnall wore the mask for the remainder of his round, finishing with a creditable even-par 71, but said he was in real discomfort when he got back to the scorer’s hut.
“It’s pretty bruising, it’s an emotional rollercoaster, you go through the ups and downs,” he said.
No filter here.
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) December 5, 2019
The smoke haze has well and truly set in at the #AusOpenGolf.
We hope everyone is staying safe and keeping clear of the bushfires. #PGATA pic.twitter.com/QWI2M7ZpVy
“Physically I’m absolutely fine, it’s just the constant cough and then by the end of the day the head starts to hurt a little bit but I think that’s just part and parcel of coughing so much really.”
“I was always going to keep going. To be honest I’ve gone through a bit over the last year or so, playing up in China I had the same sort of thing as well so it’s just all about trying to manage it and do the things well that can get you get you playing and get you through.
“My caddy’s been through one of these weeks before so he’s well aware and he’s just handed me the water bottle every three seconds just to get some liquid in.”
Originally published as Australian Open 2019: Players having to deal with smoke haze caused by NSW bushfires