Tiger Woods was thwarted by adverse weather conditions on the opening day of the Turkish Open.

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Thunderstorms halt play on opening day of Turkish Open

Tiger Woods managed to complete first 10 holes before play abandoned

World No.1 Woods six shots off the lead on one-under

England's Paul Casey and Steve Webster in lead with South Africa's Darren Fichardt

CNN  — 

It might have felt as if the lights had been turned off but Tiger Woods still has a flicker of hope at the Turkish Open.

Woods was forced to abandon his efforts on the opening day of the inaugural $7 million tournament as thunderstorms brought a halt to proceedings on a gray and gloomy day on the on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya.

The World No.1 managed to complete 10 holes before play was stopped at 16.42pm local time with Woods six shots off the leaders.

“I thought when we teed off we would be lucky to get in 11 holes and I was pretty spot on,” 14-time major winner Woods told reporters.

“So we got in about the right number of holes as it just gets dark so quickly and it’s like someone just turned off the light switch.

“The air now also is heavy with moisture so the ball is not going very far compared to when we were warming up on the range and early in the round.

“But towards the end we were hitting about a half-a-club short.

“I’m still working on getting a bit of the rust out of my game but then tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us.”

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Heavy thunderstorms around Belek meant that play did not get under way until 12.05 local time – allowing only 15 players out of the 78-strong field to complete their rounds.

Woods will resume Friday with six shots separating him from English duo Paul Casey and Steve Webster who sit on seven under part alongside South Africa’s Darren Fichardt.

“It was a very aggressive start,” world number 97 Casey told reporters.

“There are opportunities out there with two very reachable par-fives in the first four holes.

“I knocked a driver and three-wood on the green at the first and holed for an eagle. It was foot flat to the floor today and just fire at the pins, take advantage of the soft conditions and see what happens.”

“The field is exceptionally strong and with the layout of the golf course, and the way it is set up, I fully expect somebody is going to get to maybe 20 plus under par this week.”

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The course, which has been designed by Colin Montgomerie, appeared to suit Casey’s game.

That should be of little surprise however, given Casey’s past successes on courses set out by the Scot.

The Englishman’s past two European Tour victories at the 2011 Volvo Golf Champions and this year’s Irish Open have both come on Montgomerie’s courses.

“I seem to play very well around Monty’s golf courses,” he added.

“I won in Bahrain a couple of years ago and then Carton House this year. I do enjoy his golf courses. I have no idea why, but maybe the fact that you can be incredibly aggressive does bode well for me.”

Thorbjørn Olesen and Ricardo Gonzalez both finished on six-under after recording rounds of 66, while Sweden’s money-list leader Henrik Stenson was forced to stop after reaching four-under through 10.