GOLF ROUNDUP : Zoeller Leads as Rain Delay Strands TPC Golfers

Fuzzy Zoeller finished off a 67 after a lengthy rain delay and was the leader in the clubhouse Friday in the uncompleted second round of the Players Championship at Ponte Vedra, Fla.

There was no assurance, however, that Zoeller’s advantage would stand up when Greg Norman and 71 others complete second-round play this morning. They were stranded by darkness on the TPC at Sawgrass after an early-morning squall stopped play for almost three hours.

After the second round is completed, the field will be cut to the low 70 scorers and the third round will begin at 8:30 a.m. PST.

This event was already completed, however, by John Daly and defending champion Nick Price.

Daly struggled to an 80 and completed two rounds at 154, 10 over par. Price, who used a victory here last season as the springboard to player-of-the-year honors and had finished first and second in his last two starts, shot 76-149 and went home, confident he failed to qualify for the final two rounds.

Zoeller reached the tournament halfway point at 133, 11 under par.

When darkness fell, Norman had caught him and at least two others had a chance.

Norman, the British Open champion who opened with a 63, was two under for the round and 11 under for the tournament with eight holes to play.

Of those who completed the second round, Hale Irwin and Gary Hallberg were next at 137. Irwin, 48, a three-time U.S. Open winner now in his 27th season on the tour, had a 70. Hallberg shot 69.

The current U.S. Open champion, Lee Janzen, shot a 75, 10 shots higher than his opening round, and was at 140.

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Japan’s Isao Aoki, making his first start of the year on the Senior PGA Tour, and Larry Gilbert each shot four-under 68 for a one-stroke lead over three other golfers in the opening round of the Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic at Kingwood, Texas.

Gibby Gilbert, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Tommy Aaron were one shot back, followed by Jim Albus, a winner two weeks ago at San Antonio, Jim O’Hern, and defending champion Bob Charles, all at 70.

Larry Gilbert, a career club pro who joined the senior tour last year, played bogey-free golf and converted four birdies to tie Aoki.