Montgomerie Leads

Colin Montgomerie of Scotland completed the rain-delayed first round in 7-under-par 65, then fired a 1-under 71 for a one-shot lead in the Million Dollar Challenge.

The 12 players vying for the richest first prize in golf - $1 million - were tightly bunched at the halfway mark, with only six strokes separating Montgomerie and last-place Tom Lehman of the United States, the British Open champion and U.S. PGA player of the year.

Ian Woosnam of Wales and South Africa’s Ernie Els were tied for second at 137, one stroke in front of Nick Price of Zimbabwe and the U.S. trio of Steve Stricker, U.S. Open champion Steve Jones and U.S. PGA champion Mark Brooks.

For the first time in the 16-year history of the tournament, heavy rain in the usually arid hills of northern South Africa forced play to be suspended Thursday after a few holes.

Friday, players started early to complete the first round, then turned around for another 18 holes in the afternoon.