Thompson, Seeking First Win in 12 Years, Leader at 65

Leonard Thompson, seeking his first victory in 12 years, shot a seven-under-par 65 Thursday to take the first-round lead in the rain-delayed $1 Million Buick Open golf tournament.

Brad Fabel, Mark O’Meara, Don Shirey Jr. and Richard Zokol were one stroke back.

Australian Wayne Grady, who finished second to Mark Calcavecchia after losing in a four-hole playoff at the British Open last week, was at 67, tied with five others, including Lon Hinkle and Hal Sutton.

Play was halted for 1 hour 35 minutes because of a thunderstorm that swept over the 7,014-yard Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club course. The storm also delayed the afternoon starters by 45 minutes.

Players said the rain didn’t affect their play, and the leaderboard supported the claim.

Thompson, playing in the morning, had three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine and made the turn one under par.

Then he began a charge on the back side, making birdies on seven of the first eight holes. On the 18th, a 435-yard, par-four, Thompson pitched from the rough within 15 feet of the pin but missed the putt for a bogey.

“I had a shaky start,” said Thompson, whose only PGA Tour wins were the 1974 Jackie Gleason-Inverrary tournament and the 1977 Pensacola Open. “The middle of the front nine I hit it solid, and carried it through the round.”

Grady, shaking off the 27th runner-up finish in his career, putted his way to a 67. He rolled in seven birdie putts--from 20, 20, 40, 25, 30, 25 and 40 feet--while needing only 26 putts in his round.