Bernhard Langer leads rain-suspended opening round at the d**k's Sporting Goods Open
Bernhard Langer recorded a sizzling seven-under par score through 15 holes in the rain-suspended opening round at the d**k's Sporting Goods Open to take a two-shot lead over Willie Wood, John Huston and Chien Soon Lu.
Langer sank four birdies before the turn followed by another three on the back nine to take an early lead in the event. He was flawless throughout the round and was a little disappointed because of the sudden suspension of the round.
He stated that he was in great momentum and could have scored even more birdies to get into a commanding position. Still, he managed to post a good score on the leaderboard and is hoping to continue his form on Saturday.
"I played pretty solid. I drove the ball very well. I hit a lot of fairways to give myself opportunities with my iron shots," said Langer, who secured his victory in Minnesota with a 62. "I'm disappointed we had to stop because I was going well, feeling
good, but hopefully we'll continue tomorrow".
In the meantime, Lu also enjoyed a bogey-free front nine score of five-under par. He sank five birdies on the final nine holes that he played.
Overall, it was a low scoring day as the players looked very comfortable on the greens and a number of players remained error-free until the rain hit the area.
It was the first time ever since 2009 that the bad weather conditions suspended the Champions Tour event at the En-Joie Golf Club.
The heavy rain showers surrounded the area in the afternoon and the officials called off the day at 3:32 pm ET because of unplayable conditions at the course.
According to Gene Smith, Assistant Tournament Director for the Champions Tour, the course could have taken at least an hour to become playable after the rain stopped.
"We have several fairways out there that are totally under water. If a player was trying to take relief from casual water, he would probably have to go about 40 yards from where the ball is on the fairway," Smith said. "We're not going to play that way".
Earlier on Tuesday, 1.7 inches of rain fell on the course and the opening round of the tournament on Friday witnessed 2.1 inches of rainfall. At the time of the suspension, only 12 players were sitting in the clubhouse after completing their rounds.
Wood and Joel Edwards were the only two players in the top-10 who completed their rounds. The first round will now resume at 7:30 am on Saturday morning.
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