Kelly leads soggy Canadian Open

[July 25, 2009]  OAKVILLE, Ontario (AP) -- Players took dead aim at Glen Abbey's rain-softened greens. A little thunderstorm got in on the act, too, at the 100th Canadian Open.

"It developed just outside the 15-mile radar scope and it was the only storm in the region," PGA Tour tournament director Steve Carman said. "It wasn't very large, but it went right down the pipe to hit us."

Lightning forced the players off the course at 7:30 p.m. Friday, half an hour after play resumed following a three-hour delay because of lightning and rain. Heavy rain followed, dropping a little more than a half-inch in 20 minutes.

More rain was expected Saturday afternoon, a daunting prospect for the tournament that has lost 12 hours of daylight to the storms that have drenched the clay-base layout with more than 2 inches of rain in two days.

"If we get any rain during the day tomorrow, we're at what they call field capacity," Carman said. "The sponge is full of water."

Jerry Kelly had the lead at 11 under, a stroke ahead of Camilo Villegas, Tim Herron, Martin Laird and Nathan Green, with 76 players - including Canadian star Mike Weir and first-round co-leader Kevin Na - still waiting to start the second round.

Kelly shot a 7-under 65 in perfect scoring conditions at the completion of the first round and birdied the last of his 15 holes in the second to pull ahead.

Villegas, tied for the first-round lead with Na after a 63 in the morning, also had three holes to play. Herron had two to go, Laird one and Green six.

"It would have been nice to get the whole round in and sleep in until 1," said Herron, set to resume play early Saturday.

Na and Bob Estes were 9 under. Estes had five holes left.

The 42-year-old Kelly, the New Orleans winner in April coming off a third-place finish last week in Milwaukee in his home-state event, had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the first round on the vulnerable course.

"You can get after it," Kelly said.

But only if it's dry enough to play.

"Our regulations dictate that we're playing 72 holes by the end of Monday, then the option would be to go back to 54 holes," Carman said. "But we're pretty much regulated to try and get 72 holes in by the end of the day Monday."

The event could possibly stretch to Tuesday.

"Again, according to the regulations, if you're playing the final round and half the field finishes on Monday night, that would force you to go into Tuesday to finish that round. That's pretty much the only way we could go to Tuesday."

Villegas matched Na in the morning, playing the final six holes in 6 under. The Colombian hit to an inch to set up a birdie on the par-3 15th and holed a 15-foot eagle chip on the par-5 18th.

"What a great way to finish the round," Villegas said.

Lee Janzen, 5 under after 30 holes, withdrew after play was stopped. Aaron Baddeley, Tag Ridings, Greg Owen, David Gossett, Robert Garrigus, Mark Brooks, Carl Pettersson and Brian Davis also pulled out.

Stephen Ames topped the 15 Canadians. Trying to become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954, he shot a 68 in the first round and was 7 under with three holes to play in the second.

"It's difficult," Ames said. "Stop, start, stop, start."

Weir was 1 under after a 71 on Thursday in a round interrupted by a 7 1/2-hour delay.

Former Southern California player Jamie Lovemark opened with a 74 in his pro debut and was 3 under overall after playing 10 holes in the second round in 5 under.

[Associated Press; By JOHN NICHOLSON]

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