Rookie shares lead in event

Zack Johnson was among the leaders before darkness halted play in Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HUMBLE, Texas -- PGA Tour rookie Zach Johnson continued a terrific stretch of golf with a 4-under 68 Friday and was in a three-way tie for the lead when the second round of the Shell Houston Open was suspended by darkness.
Johnson, who won earlier this month at the BellSouth Classic, overcame a second day of gusty winds and a nearly 2-hour weather delay at the Redstone Golf Club in suburban Houston. With 36 players to finish their second round early today, Johnson, Steve Stricker and Steve Lowery were at 5-under 139 after two rounds.
Among those to finish was Neal Lancaster, who was one shot behind the leaders with three holes remaining. John Riegger was at 4 under with one hole to play.
Patrick Sheehan, Paul Azinger and Vijay Singh finished the second round at 4-under 140. Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia and Scott Hoch were among six players another stroke back.
Johnson had played 10 holes and was at 5 under for the tournament when weather halted play with 78 golfers still on the course.
When it resumed, he promptly birdied No. 11, rolling in a 57-foot putt. He bogeyed the par-3 13th and made it back with a birdie at 16. He bogeyed 17 and finished with a par on 18 in near darkness.
"I got off to a good start and had a lot of momentum," he said. "The delay was a little frustrating.
"I got something to eat, relaxed a little bit, got my rhythm back when I went back out."
Champions Tour
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Gil Morgan shot a 7-under-par 65 Friday for a one-stroke lead over Hale Irwin and Dave Barr in the first round of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
Craig Stadler, seeking his second win of the Champions Tour season, was at 67. Bruce Fleisher, also looking for his second win, was among five players at 68.
This was the 22nd straight round of par or better for Morgan, who won the SBC Classic last month. He had eight birdies and one bogey on the island layout in the middle of the Savannah River.
"I felt like I had a chance to birdie every hole," Morgan said. "Of course, you like to think that every day, but today it seemed feasible."
At this pace, the winner is almost certain to better the 10-under 206 total posted in 2003 by defending champion Bruce Lietzke. The Legends, which spawned the senior circuit in 1978, had been played in four different cities and on eight different courses before coming to Savannah last year.
"Maybe we know the course a little better," Morgan said. "Also, the course is faster this year. Last year, we had a lot of rain. So that might account for these low scores, too."
Irwin, playing for the first time in four weeks, found it helpful to be in the same threesome with Morgan.
"All I had to do was look at Gil, and I had an automatic goal," he said. "But then I had to get back to hitting shots that count."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.