Pettersson leads rainy Memorial

Carl Pettersson would have to consider this a good day. He made five birdies in the five hours he spent on the golf course, and had only one milkshake in the six hours he spent inside the locker room during a rainy Friday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

The best part of all was that he finished his round and was atop the leaderboard.

Pettersson made up ground quickly after a six-hour rain delay by playing bogey-free in his round of 5-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,” Pettersson said.

The outcry over the furrowed bunkers was quickly forgotten when a steady rain that began at dawn saturated Muirfield Village and led to the long rain delay. Stuck in the clubhouse half the day, all anyone wanted to do was get back on the course.

“Twelve hours for 18 holes. That must be a world record,” Ernie Els said after a 70 brought him back to even par, eight shots out of the lead.

Pettersson returned to the course and struck a 7-iron to 10 feet on the sixth hole for birdie, and continued moving up the leaderboard until he was at 8-under 136.

Sean O’Hair birdied three of his first six holes and also was at 8 under when play was suspended. Steve Flesch (72) and Zach Johnson (68) each dropped a shot over the final two holes to finish at 6-under 138.

John Daly opened with an 80. His tee time was adjusted to 6:30 p.m., and in a development that shocked no one, he was nowhere to be found when his group went off.

LPGA

Trying to snap out of a victory drought, Annika Sorenstam shot a 7-under 64 for a share of the opening-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N.J.

Winless in her last six starts, Sorenstam sank a 7-foot putt for eagle on the ninth hole and made four back-nine birdies to tie with Michele Redman.

Redman, looking for her first tour victory since 2000, reeled off five consecutive birdies in her round after a solid but unspectacular front nine.

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

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., opened with a 71, while Rathdrum’s Tracy Hanson carded a 72.

Champions Tour

Scott Simpson finished with a 7-under 64, one stroke off the tournament record, and took a one-shot lead over four players after first-round play in the Allianz Championship in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Doug Tewell, Jim Thorpe, Bruce Lietzke, Mark McNulty all shot 65 at Glen Oaks Country Club.

Seventeen players are within three shots of the lead heading into today’s round.