Rain at the Memorial Makes It a Long Day

Carl Pettersson made five birdies in the five hours he spent on the golf course, and spent six hours inside the locker room during a rainy Friday at the Memorial at Dublin, Ohio.

Pettersson made up ground quickly after a six-hour rain delay by playing bogey-free in his round of five-under-par 67, making him the leader in the clubhouse by two shots with more than two-thirds of the field unable to finish the second round.

“It’s nice to be finished,” said Pettersson, who is at eight-under 136.

Sean O’Hair birdied three of his first six holes and also was at eight under when play was suspended. Steve Flesch (72) and Zach Johnson (68) each dropped a shot over the final two holes to finish at six-under 138.

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Trying to end a rare drought, Annika Sorenstam shot a seven-under 64 for a share of the opening-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Galloway Township, N.J.

Winless in her last six starts, Sorenstam made a seven-foot putt for eagle on the ninth hole and gained momentum from there, making four back-nine birdies to move into a tie with Michele Redman.

“Obviously, I’m very happy with the round,” the defending champion said. “I thought I played good golf -- a mixture of good drives, good approach shots and I rolled in a few putts.”

Laura Diaz, Seon-Hwa Lee and Amy Hung were one stroke back.

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Scott Simpson shot a seven-under 64, one stroke off the tournament record, and took a one-shot lead after first-round play in the Allianz Championship at West Des Moines, Iowa.

Doug Tewell, Jim Thorpe, Bruce Lietzke and Mark McNulty all shot 65 at Glen Oaks Country Club as 46 of the 78 golfers in the field finished under par.