HUMBLE, Texas - Patrick Sheehan birdied his first hole of the third round Saturday to move into a four-way tie for the lead in the rain-delayed Houston Open.
He was tied with rookie Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker and Steve Lowery at 5 under when play was suspended because of darkness. The round didn't begin until late afternoon after a rain delay of more than seven hours. When the rain stopped, 30 took to the soggy course to finish a second round also cut short by bad weather and darkness.
Play was set to resume at 8:30 a.m. today with the fourth round to follow as conditions allow. Tour officials said the event could be extended to Monday.
"Playing 36 holes, if that's what we have to do, you just go to the next round and that's a little bit of a pressure-free situation," said Lowery, who closed the second round Friday with three birdies for a share of the lead. "You're in the middle of a round. You don't sleep on it. You just go ahead and play."
Johnson shot 4-under 68 Friday to match Lowery (69) and Stricker (70) at 139. Jose Coceres had a pair of birdies through four holes, and Geoff Ogilvy, Mark Calcavecchia and Scott Hoch birdied in the brief play Saturday to get to 4 under, level with Vijay Singh, Paul Azinger and John Riegger.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Gil Morgan had his 23rd straight round of par or better, shooting 4-under 68 to maintain a one-stroke lead over Hale Irwin and Dave Barr at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in Savannah, Ga.
Morgan was 11-under 133. Craig Stadler, seeking his second tour win of the season, stumbled down the stretch, finishing with 68 for 135. He was tied with Gary Koch (67). Morgan, also seeking his second win of the season, fell two behind Stadler after nine holes. He moved into the lead at 11 under with a 17-foot birdie at the 16th.
FUTURES TOUR: Smriti Mehra completed a first-round 69, then added 6-under 66 to lead the Frye Classic in Wichita, Kan., by six. Brooksville's Kelly Lagedrost, who opened with 74, was among the 68 who will finish the second round today.
EUROPEAN PGA TOUR: David Park's lead at the Spanish Open was cut to one after Ricardo Gonzalez's 6-under 64 in the third round in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Park, who entered with a four-stroke lead, was 10-under 200 after 71.
