Three players at 10 under
Updated: March 26, 2005, 10:40 PM ET
Associated Press
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Lee Westwood and Joe Durant would have gladly taken this situation at the start of the week -- tied for the lead in The Players Championship after three days of golf's richest tournament.
The Players incurred a weather delay for the second straight day on Saturday.
What they want now is to be there at the start of next week.
When darkness fell over the TPC at Sawgrass late Saturday, Westwood and Durant were in the clubhouse and atop the leaderboard with two rounds in the books, not sure what Sunday would bring them other than a chance to sleep in.
The only other certainty: The Players Championship was going overtime for the third time in six years.
Another rain delay kept the second round from being completed, and the best hope was to finish Monday.
"The weather is better in England at the moment," Westwood said.
Even by PGA Tour standards -- seven of 13 tournaments delayed by weather this year -- this day was bizarre.
Thirty players who thought they were going to resume the second round Saturday morning instead had to erase their scores and start over so everyone could lift, clean and place their balls in the soggy fairways.
It was so sloppy and slippery that two golf carts slid down a hill and into a pond, although both drivers jumped out before their buggies took a plunge. Then came another three-hour rain delay.
Steve Jones opened with a 64, then waited 50 hours to hit his next shot.
"You hit a couple of shots and then sit for six hours," U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen said. "You spend your time finding which is the most comfortable seat in the clubhouse."
Right now, it belongs to Durant and Westwood -- but only because they finished.
Durant tied the back-nine record with a 30 for a 7-under 65, while Westwood overcame a double bogey early in his round for a 69 that left them atop the leaderboard when darkness suspended the second round.
Seventy-one players, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, were expected to return at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to finish the second round. That all but assured a Monday finish, but with rain still in the forecast, there was still a chance for the first Tuesday finish on tour in 25 years.
"You just have to put up with it and just be patient and accept it," said Westwood, who joined Durant at 10-under 134. "You're going to be doing a lot of sitting around."
Jones birdied his last hole and also was 10 under par with nine holes to play. Luke Donald was 9 under through 13.
Zach Johnson made two double bogeys, including a tee shot into the water on the 18th hole, for a 2-under 70 that left him one shot behind.
Others who finished were defending champion Adam Scott (68) and Fred Funk(72), who were at 7-under 137.
The conditions and rain delays dampened the enthusiasm at one of golf's most electric tournaments, although the downsized gallery still caught a glimpse of the good and evil that Sawgrass produces.
Vijay Singh was working his way up the leaderboard when he pumped two tee shots into the water on the 18th hole and made a quadruple-bogey 8, sending him to a 74 and leaving him at least seven shots behind at 3-under 141.
Ernie Els failed to take advantage of his good fortune. He left Friday facing a 12-foot bogey putt on No. 1, and when the round started over, had a 12-foot birdie on the same hole. He missed that, didn't make much of anything and wound up with a 71 that left him at 2-under 142.
Durant had the best round of the day, making seven birdies and an eagle with a 245-yard approach over water and sand to 10 feet on the par-5 11th.
"I'm going through a time warp," Durant said. "It's very easy to get impatient with the delays and a couple of squirrelly shots. I felt very relaxed and hope it carries over the next couple of days."
Some players lost their cool with the restart.
It was the first time since the 2001 BellSouth Classic that part of a round was thrown out. Every player must compete under the same set of rules, and tournament officials had no choice but to let players lift, clean and place. Because the second round began Friday playing the ball down, the round had to start over.
Jesper Parnevik had a birdie on No. 2 early Friday. On Saturday, he made a double bogey. The Swede recovered to shoot 71 and was at 4-under 140.
Skip Kendall had an eagle on the second hole, and the second time around made par. He shot 73 and will miss the cut.
"Obviously, it didn't go in my favor," Kendall said.
Woods continued to miss birdie putts from inside 10 feet. Mickelson continued to deliver the thrills.
Lefty stuck his tee shot into 5 feet on the island-green 17th to get to 4 under for the tournament, then hit into the water for the second straight day on No. 18. But he was able to drop much closer, and from 193 yards he hit his third shot to 4 feet to save par.
Sawgrass has never been tamer, and there was a chance the cut would match a record low of 2 under. But there was still trouble at every turn, as Johnson, Westwood and Singh could attest.
"The penalties are still there," Westwood said. "Once you're out of position on this golf course, it can kill you."
Johnson had a one-shot lead at 11 under until hitting into the water on the 18th, then reloading and going into the rough. Johnson had to get up-and-down from 90 yards to limit the damage to a double bogey.
"That was a little frustrating, but all in all in all, I'm very pleased with where I'm at," Johnson said. "There's significantly more positives and than negatives."
And there's still a lot of golf to be played.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
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