Ryan Palmer parred his final hole at dusk for a 7-under-par 64 and the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The start of the round was delayed an hour because of frost, and play was suspended because of darkness at 6:05 p.m. with 42 players unable to finish. Last year, frost and frozen greens delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.
“I knew I was going to be here in the morning for the second round, so I wasn’t worried about it if we had to come back and restart,” Palmer said. “So, I didn’t think about it and I just kept hitting shots and sticking to my game plan.”
Webb Simpson was a stroke back on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale. Jarrod Lyle, Harrison Frazar, Derek Lamely, Kevin Na and Chez Reavie were 2 strokes behind at 66.
More golf
• Lee Bo-mee of South Korea shot a 7-under 65 to take a 1-stroke lead in the Australian Ladies Masters in Gold Coast, Australia. U.S. Open champion So Yeon Ryu, the early leader, was a stroke behind at Royal Pines with fellow-South Korean Hee Kyung Seo and Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands.
