Quintet lead interrupted AT&T Classic
by Michelle Fortune, 16 May 2008
A group of five players - Jonathon Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathon Byrd, Parker McLachlin and Kenny Perry – share the lead after the rain-disrupted opening round of the AT&T Classic was finally completed on Friday morning.
The quintet carded six-under 66s at the TPC Sugarloaf course where concerns over the speeds of the fairways and greens were not an issue following the downpour.
Of the five, only Perry had to deal with the rain that swept over the course during the afternoon session with Kaye, Palmer, Byrd and McLachlin all taking advantage of the heatwave in the morning.
"It's always nice to catch a good end of the draw because it doesn't always happen that way," McLachlin said.
"I've caught the bad end plenty of time when you have played in the morning and you are expecting it to be calm [but] it's really windy. And then right when you finish, the wind just dies down.
"You're like, 'That's no fun. That's not fair.' "
Charles Howell III and David Toms are among four players one shot behind on five-under, while Camilo Villegas finished highest of the non-American's on four-under, the same score as Stewart Cink, Steve Flesch, John Mallinger and Guy Boros.
England's Brian Davis shot a three-under 69 after returning early on Friday morning, while Nick O'Hern, former Masters champion Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum also trailed the leaders by three strokes.
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