Howell, Ames top leaderboard

Charles Howell III and Stephen Ames got the best of both worlds Friday in the Bay Hill Invitational at Orlando, Fla. They were among only 30 players to complete the second round, and they were atop the leaderboard.

On a day that felt like a marathon to some and a vacation to others, Howell ended his long day with another short birdie putt that gave him rounds of 71-68, giving him a share of the early lead.

Ames also played 36 holes and posted the same scores. He birdied five of six holes in one stretch, and finished with a 5-foot par to join Howell at 5-under-par 139.

Vijay Singh, who can return to No. 1 in the world with a victory this week, struck the ball flawlessly but couldn’t make a putt. He found a solution on the eighth hole by not having to putt – the Fijian holed out from 152 yards with a 9-iron and wound up with rounds of 72 and 68, leaving him one shot behind.

Their position won’t be clear until the other 84 players finish their rounds – 37 of them, including Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, did not tee off and could wind up playing 36 holes today.

Joe Ogilvie wound up as the first-round leader, finishing with a 68 and returning more than nine hours later to play the first three holes of his second round. He birdied No. 3 and was at 5 under.

It all was caused by rain that washed out all but three hours on Thursday, which kept Howell & Co. idle and left them quite busy on Friday.

Champions Tour

Gil Morgan shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Jenkins and Wayne Levi after the first round of the Toshiba Senior Classic in Newport Beach, Calif.

The 58-year-old Morgan, a 23-time winner on the Champions Tour, had an eagle and four birdies in his bogey-free round on the Newport Beach Country Club course.

Mark McNulty and Bruce Lietzke were two strokes back along with Keith Fergus, Lonnie Nielsen, J.C. Snead, Allen Doyle, Morris Hatalsky, Brad Bryant and Mark Johnson.

LPGA Tour

Lorena Ochoa shot a 5-under 67 to open a two-shot lead in the Safeway International at Superstition Mountain, Ariz., with Annika Sorenstam three strokes back and the resurgent Michelle Wie also in contention.

Ochoa, the 23-year-old Mexican star who was the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year two seasons ago, had a 12-under 132.

Soo-Yun Kang was second after a 66, and Sorenstam, the defending champion, was 9 under after a 69. Siew-Ai Lim, who shared the first-round lead with Ochoa, was 7 under after a 72, with Grace Park (67) and Karen Stupples (71) at 6 under.

Candie Kung (70) and Juli Inkster (73) were next at 5-under 139, and the 15-year-old Wie followed her opening 73 with a 67 to join Laura Davies (69), Paula Creamer (71), Liselotte Neumann (70) and Laura Diaz (67) at 4 under.

Wendy Ward, from Edwall, Wash., shot a 1-over 73 for a two-day total of even-par 144.