A lightning storm and heavy rain forced the suspension of play in the second round of the New Orleans Classic in Avondale, Louisiana, on Friday.
Only 47 of the 151 players in the field managed to complete their second rounds, while almost a third, including first-round leader Jason Bohn of the US, did not even tee off.
More than 6cm of rain fell in less than three hours, leaving parts of the course under water and the prospects of a resumption of play impossible.
Tournament organizers rescheduled the second round to be completed yesterday, with the third round later the same day, if the foul weather clears.
“The forecast for tomorrow [Saturday] isn’t very good,” tournament director Steve Carman told reporters. “We’ll get them out here tomorrow morning and if we can play, we’ll do that.”
Britain’s Brian Davis (66), Lee Janzen (66) of the US and Germany’s Alex Cejka (67) all took advantage of their early start times to finish their rounds before the weather turned and they shared the clubhouse lead at seven-under.
Britain’s Greg Owen was also tied for the lead at seven-under with one hole to play in his second round, while Bohn was also on seven-under but had not played a single shot on Friday.
Davis, who was thrust into the spotlight after an act of sportsmanship cost him his chance of winning last week’s PGA Tour event in South Carolina, made a slow start, but then went on a hot streak that included four consecutive birdies in the middle of his round.
“I knew I was going to get softer greens and less wind in the morning. I didn’t really take advantage of it [initially],” he said.
Janzen had missed the cut in his past four events, but has yet to drop a shot in his two rounds at New Orleans.
“When you hear players talking about the difference between the guys barely making the cut or barely missing the cut and the guys that are leading the tournament [it] is a very fine line,” the two-time US Open champion said. “That’s proof there. All I did was hole a putt on the first hole today, which just seemed to open up the hole a little bit and I made some putts today.”
Australia’s Greg Chalmers fired a 68 to finish the day at six-under along with compatriot Jarrod Lyle, who had four holes to play, and David Duval of the US, who was prevented from starting his round.
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