


ATLANTA -- Thunderstorms today in the Atlanta area caused a 3-hour and 3-minute rain delay that interrupted first-round action at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola (2:17-5:20 p.m.) Officials suspended the round at 7:09 p.m. due to darkness. Twenty players, or 10 groups of two, have yet to complete 18 holes. Those players will resume their rounds at 8 a.m. on Friday.
Tee times for the second round are 9-11:20 a.m. and players will be in same pairings as the first round -- rather than being re-paired by score as originally scheduled. Players were paired based on their position in the FedExCup standings -- meaning Tiger Woods (ranked No. 1) and Steve Stricker (No. 2) play last.
Woods and Stricker teed off at 2:10 today and had hit their approach shots to the first green when the horn blew for the first time. Woods and Stricker ended up completing 11 holes today. Tim Clark is leading at 62 (-8), followed by Padraig Harrington at 63 (-7) and John Rollins at 64 (-6). Mark Calcavecchia is six-under-par through 16 holes.
A half inch of rain fell at East Lake Golf Club today. According to DTN-Meteorlogix, the remnants of Humberto will continue to move toward Alabama tonight and tomorrow as a cold front drops southward out of the Midwest. This will bring another round of showers and thunderstorms on Friday. The cold front will finally push the moisture to the south of Atlanta by early Saturday morning. High pressure will provide less humid air and dry weather for the weekend.
"The good news is, the greens at East Lake are equipped with the SubAir system, so they are draining really well," said Mark Russell. "We should be in good shape to finish the first round tomorrow morning, and if the weather cooperates, we'll be back on schedule for the weekend. Of course, the forecast for Friday afternoon doesn't look great, so we'll have to adjust as the day progresses."
Tomorrow, gates will open to the public at 7 a.m., and shuttles will begin running from public parking at Turner Field at 6:45 a.m. Fans who purchased Tuesday or Wednesday tickets can still exchange them for a grounds pass Friday through Sunday, due to the course being closed to the public until today. The general parking lot at Turner Field will be staffed with volunteers who can exchange spectators' tickets. Tickets can also be exchanged at the admission gate on-site. Thursday tickets are no longer valid.
The television times for THE TOUR Championship will remain the same: 1-6 p.m. ET on GOLF CHANNEL tomorrow, tape delayed; 12:30-2 p.m. GOLF CHANNEL and 2-6 p.m. NBC on Saturday, live; and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. GOLF CHANNEL and 1:30-6 p.m. NBC on Sunday, live.
For questions regarding THE TOUR Championship, fans can call 404-378-8687 or visit www.tourchampionship.pgatour.com.