Weather Hampers the Field

David Toms, shrugging off two lightning delays, overtook Davis Love III to claim the early first-round lead Thursday in the weather-plagued Sprint International.

Play was suspended twice in the afternoon for more than three hours because of lightning at Castle Pines Golf Club. Fifty-one golfers were unable to finish their rounds and were to resume play early this morning, after which the second round was to begin.

Toms, who ranks among the top 50 on the PGA Tour’s money list for the third straight season, vaulted to the top of the leaderboard with an eagle and six birdies, worth 16 points under the modified Stableford scoring system used in this event.

Toms finished nearly eight hours after he started.

Two points behind Toms was Love, who birdied six of his first seven holes.

The talented field featured eight of the world’s top 10 players, including No. 1 Tiger Woods, No. 2 David Duval and No. 3 Love.

Woods and Duval both had eight points through 16 and 17 holes, respectively.

Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old Spanish sensation who lost by a stroke to Woods in last week’s PGA Championship, finished the first round with five points.