Five Tied for Lead in Rain-Delayed Cadillac Championship


A two-and-a-half-hour rain delay threw a wrench into the opening round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The $9 million PGA Tour event got underway Thursday at the revamped Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Miami.

Heavy storms that came through south Florida at 2:22 p.m. forced players off the course. They didn't return until 4:45, with the horn sounding at 6:00 due to darkness and postponing play until Friday.

Many in the 70-man field will return Friday morning to complete their first rounds before beginning their second. The forecast calls for more rain Friday, but the weekend looks sunny and mild.

At the end of the day four players were tied for the lead at 3-under par, with Harris English's 69 the only completed round. Also at minus-3 are Americans Jason Dufner (through 16 holes), Hunter Mahan (14) and Patrick Reed (11), and Italy's Francesco Molinari (13), who all must finish up.

The winner in last week's Honda Classic, Russell Henley, was at 2-under through 15 holes and tied for sixth with South Africans Charl Schwartzel (15) and Louis Oosthuizen (13), Americans Dustin Johnson (15), Matt Kuchar (15), Zach Johnson (11), and No. 2-ranked Adam Scott (10) of Australia.

The next-lowest player to get in his first round was Australia's Scott Hend, who carded an even-par 72.

Defending champion Tiger Woods, who pulled out of the Honda Classic after playing 67 holes due to back spasms, was at 2-over through 10 holes before retreating to the clubhouse.

Playing in the same group with Woods and Scott, No. 3 Henrik Stenson of Sweden was even-par, and No. 5 Phil Mickelson was also even through 14. His playing partner, No. 6 Rory McIlroy, who lost on the first playoff hole to Henley in the Honda, was at 1-under.

Fourth-ranked Jason Day was scheduled to be in the threesome with Mickelson and McIlroy but withdrew before the start of play because of an ailing left thumb.

"My left thumb was bothering me at the Accenture Match Play Championship and the pain continued here this week," Day said in a statement. "I had an MRI yesterday here in Miami with Dr. Lee Kaplan. Fortunately, the MRI was negative, but the doctor prescribed rest if I was unable to play today.

"My plan is to rest for a couple of weeks," the Match Play champion added. "I'm sorry to miss the Cadillac Championship; it looks like it's going to be a great event."

France's Victor Dubuisson, who lost to Day on the 23rd hole in the Match Play finals, had two birdies and a pair of bogeys through 16 holes before play was halted.

For all the scores, visit http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/cadillac-championship/leaderboard.html.