Howell had a 6-foot par putt on the 18th when the siren sounded to suspend play.
"I would have been pleased to make the cut," he said. "Now I can aim a bit higher."
Kirk Triplett feels the same way. He opened with a 75 and was worried about a weekend tee time, but all that changed when he holed out for eagle on No. 13 from 94 yards. He birdied the 15th and 16th, and suddenly was at 2 under and dreaming big.
"I would love to keep playing," Triplett said. "I'm thinking about contending, instead of when you're a few over par and you're thinking about making the cut. That's the feeling I'm going to bring to the course tomorrow."
Play was suspended at 1640 GMT, and the grounds crew worked to get the course into shape. Mud-splattered fans walked gingerly over the gooey mess that only two days ago was green grass. About three hours later, they heard the dreaded news over a loudspeaker.
By now, the players should be used to this. But after four straight weeks -- and the ninth time in 15 tournaments that rounds have been halted by weather -- it is testing their patience.
"These guys are trying their hardest to find and capture a feeling," two-time champion Ben Crenshaw said. "You have a delay, you have to start all over again. You have to return that feel and that's very difficult. That's what's annoying."
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