Amanda Balionis and Bill Rosinski with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio preview Round 3 of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial from Colonial Country Club.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Matt Kuchar didn't complete his second round Friday but he did move to the top of the leaderboard before play was halted at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Kuchar, the highest-ranked player in FedExCup points in the field (No. 5 overall), was a bogey-free 5 under through the first 15 holes on his round, moving him to 10 under for the tournament.

Kuchar had just struck his tee shot at the par-3 16th when the horn blew at 7:38 p.m. ET to end play for the day. It was the second time on Friday that threatening weather halted play.

"That's a bit of a bummer," Kuchar said. "It's no fun to wake up at 4:30 to get out here and play three holes. But we get used to it for what we do.

The 54 players who were on the course will resume their second rounds at 8:15 a.m. ET on Saturday morning.

Kuchar nearly holed out from the fairway at the par-4 second, his ball sailing into the cup before popping back out. That set up his second straight birdie to start his round.

"I really got off to a great start," Kuchar said. "And then I kept playing some good golf. This course can give you trouble, but if you are hitting it good, you can make some birdies out here.

"I was hitting it good and able to fire at some pins today."

The clubhouse leader is Graham DeLaet, who is at 9 under.

DeLaet was in the early morning wave Friday and completed his round before threatening weather delayed play for more than two hours the first time. His 3-under 67 included a stretch of three consecutive birdies, followed by three consecutive bogeys at the Horrible Horseshow -- hole Nos. 3, 4 and 5, tradtionally the toughest three holes on the course.

"It definitely got me today," DeLaet said.

Four players are tied at 8 under -- Jordan Spieth, Josh Teater, Steve Flesch, who each completed their rounds; and 18-hole leader Ryan Palmer, who had finished 12 holes before the horn blew to end play for the day.

Palmer, who opened with a 62 that tied the lowest first-round in tournament history, was at 9 under until he double bogeyed the par-4 fifth when he had to take a penalty shot after an errant tee shot. He then followed with a bogey at the sixth, but once he made the turn, he birdied two of his last three holes.

Spieth shot a 67 despite suffering a one-stroke penalty when his ball fell into a spike mark on the green at the sixth hole after he addressed it. Rule 18-2b allows provides exceptions for wind-blown balls on the green but not for balls that move due to gravity.

"It's an unfortunate ruling," Spieth said. "That's just how it goes."

Flesch, who won the Colonial in 2004, tied for the low round of the day, a 6-under 64. In making the cut, he ends a personal string of 16 missed cuts dating back to late in 2011, as he has battled a right-shoulder problem for much of the past two years.

"Today was a big day for me," Flesch said. "If I would have come out and shot a couple over par and missed another cut, it would have been a tough rest of 2013."

Defending champion Zach Johnson is 5 under through 16 holes and has moved to 6 under for the tournament.

The projected cut line is 1 under. If that cut line holds, players who have already finished their rounds at even par or worse include: Charl Schwartzel, 15th in the world rankings; Corey Pavin, making his 30th Colonial start; and David Hearn, who opened with a 64 on Thursday but shot an 8-over 78 on Friday that included a quadruple bogey at the par-3 13th when he hit two balls in the water.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- With another storm on the way, play was stopped for the remainder of the day in Friday's second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Play was halted at 7:38 p.m. ET (6:38 p.m. local) and will re-start at 8:15 a.m. ET (7:15 a.m. local) on Saturday morning.

Play was halted for 2 hours, 10 minutes earlier in the day due to dangerous weather conditions that included lightning.

Matt Kuchar is the leader at 10 under through 15 holes.

Graham DeLaet is the clubhouse leader at 9 under.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Josh Teater is eating up the back nine at Colonial.

Through the first two rounds of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Teater is a cumulative 10 under on holes 10-18, with 10 birdies and zero bogeys.

That's the best back-nine performance through two rounds at Colonial since records were kept starting in 1983.

David Toms was a collective 8 under on the back nine in 2011 when he won at Colonial. Brad Faxon was also 8 under in his two rounds in 1997.

Teater has birdied every hole on the back nine except the par-3 13th at least once. He's birdied the par-4 12th and par-4 14th twice.

"I've played the back nine great so far," said Teater, who hit two trees on the front nine during his Friday round of 67. "I haven't hit any trees or had any three-putts."

FORT WORTH, Texas -- In Friday's second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Matt Kuchar hit an approach shot at the par-4 second that popped out of the cup.

Graham DeLaet now knows the "horrible horseshoe" at Colonial all too well. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Graham DeLaet came to Fort Worth without any knowledge of the “horrible horseshoe.” He can now consider himself well-acquainted. On Friday, the Canadian bogeyed each hole in the difficult stretch comprising Nos. 3-4-5. DeLaet said he knew a little about this tournament’s history before arriving in Fort Worth but he can now tell some tales about Colonial’s toughest stretch. Outside of the horseshoe, DeLaet played well in hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 13 greens in the second round.

Observations

Leaderboard: Jordan Spieth was playing just fine until he snuck a peek at the leaderboard on the 16th hole. He was looking at a 15-foot birdie putt to go 9 under. Spieth missed that birdie, rolling it 5 feet past the cup and then missed the par putt to make bogey. It was a quick reality check for the 19-year-old. To Spieth’s credit, he immediately bounced back with a birdie on the 17th hole and stands 8 under. Spieth has given himself plenty of looks at birdie. He leads the tournament in proximity to the cup, averaging 22 feet on his approach shots.

Stealing: Jim Furyk says making birdie on the fifth hole is like stealing. He was a burglar on Friday, hitting a 264-yard drive, followed by a 211-yard approach to within 12 feet. Furyk converted the birdie and left the green with a smile on his face. He hit just four fairways in the opening round but discovered a flaw in his setup and made the correction during a practice session prior to play. Furyk opened his driver just a bit and hit 12 of 14 fairways in the second round.

Tree line: Josh Teater has no problem discerning the difference between his first and last nine. Teater, starting on No. 10, made the turn at 5 under, taking just 30 strokes. He then started missing fairways and it led to bogeys. Teater hit the trees at the third and again at the sixth, making bogey both times. He then finished with three-putt bogey at the eighth before a one-putt par at the ninth. Teater has played aggressively this week. With the bermuda rough on the sparse side, he has taken some bold lines off the tee and managed to hit 16 of 28 fairways while averaging 307.8 yards per drive. It’s OK to hit the ball into the rough, but hitting trees still leads to big numbers. You cannot play Colonial from inside the tree line.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.

Tiger Woods came back from four shots down to win the Memorial in 2012. (Condon/PGA TOUR)

By Jeff Shain, PGATOUR.COM contributor

FIELD LIST: The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance

• COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club, 7,352 yards, par 72. Built with an eye on significant events, Jack Nicklaus’ showpiece opened in 1974 and has left an indelible imprint on the Hall of Famer’s hometown. The Memorial remains one of the PGA TOUR’s top “regular” stops, and Muirfield Village was the site of the 1987 Ryder Cup and 1992 U.S. Amateur. The LPGA’s Solheim Cup came to Jack’s Place in 1998, and the Presidents Cup’s arrival in September will make Muirfield Village the only venue to host all three team match-play showcases.

• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.

• CHARITY: Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which serves as primary supporter of Nationwide Children’s Hospital along with other Central Ohio charities. Additional donations are given to James Cancer Hospital, The First Tee, Central Ohio Junior Golf Association, Fore Hope and others.

• FIELD WATCH: Defending champion Tiger Woods and Masters winner Adam Scott head to Jack’s Place in what has traditionally one of the strongest fields outside a major or World Golf Championships event. Only eight of the top 25 players in this week’s world rankings aren’t entered. … Woods (78) and Vijay Singh (34) head a list of eight players with at least 12 PGA TOUR victories. … Kenny Perry, whose three Memorial wins rank No.2 behind Woods’ five, steps over from the Champions Tour to tee it up again. … U.S. Amateur champ Stephen Fox and Chinese teen Guan Tianlang will play on special invitations. Guan made headlines when he made the cut at the Masters and New Orleans, but took an early exit from the Byron Nelson Championship.

• 72-HOLE RECORD: 268, Tom Lehman (1994).

• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, John Huston (2nd round, 1996).

• LAST YEAR: Aided by a chip-in at No. 16 that recalled old times, Woods overcame a four-shot deficit for a 73rd career win that tied Nicklaus for No. 2 on the PGA TOUR’s all-time list. Woods still trailed Rory Sabbatini by two when he birdied the par-5 15th and then conjured up a shot that left even Nicklaus gushing. From deep rough behind the 16th green, Woods risked coming up short with a rolloff away from the hole, or going long into the water. Instead his flop shot had just the right touch, landing softly and running into the hole. A closing birdie gave Woods a 5-under 67 and two-shot triumph over Sabbatini and fast-closing Andres Romero.

• STORYLINES: Woods, with four wins in 2013 after his triumph at THE PLAYERS, seeks a sixth Memorial victory that also would be his third in the past five years. He also won three straight Memorials from 1999-01. … The Memorial will serve as a dry run of sorts for upgrades at Muirfield Village in advance of the Presidents Cup. The clubhouse has added an expanded locker room and fitness facility. … Fred Couples, the 1998 champion and U.S. Presidents Cup captain, makes his 22nd Memorial start and first on the PGA TOUR since Hall of Fame enshrinement earlier this month.

• SHORT CHIPS: A Woods victory would complete a second consecutive Arnie/Jack “double” and sixth of his career. Woods picked up an eighth Arnold Palmer Invitational title in March. … Raymond Floyd, winner of four major championships, is this year’s Memorial honoree. His career will be celebrated during Wednesday ceremonies. … Four of the Memorial’s past nine champions have been international players. Before that, just three of the first 27 came from outside the United States. … None of the four players who finished closest to Woods last year – Sabbatini, Romero, Daniel Summerhays and Spencer Levin – are part of this year’s roster.

• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS).

• RADIO: Thursday-Sunday, noon-6 p.m. ET (SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio).

Watch Matt Kuchar birdie the par-4 fifth hole on Friday.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Matt Kuchar and the other golfers with afternoon tee times saw their second rounds delayed Friday for more than two hours. But now that he's on the course, Kuchar is moving up the leaderboard.

With four birdies in his first seven holes, Kuchar -- who ranks fifth in FedExCup points, highest of any player in the field this week -- is now at 9 under and tied with clubhouse leader Graham DeLaet.

Ryan Palmer, the 18-hole leader after his opening 62, also has a share of that lead. Palmer is 1 under on his round through four holes.

Josh Teater, Jordan Spieth and Steve Flesch are all in the clubhouse at 8 under. Freddie Jacobon is another shot back at 7 under.

Flesch, Justin Hicks, David Lingmerth and Chez Reavie currently share the low round of the day at 6-under 64.

The cut line is currently projected at 1 under.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Following a second-round 64 on Friday at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Chez Reavie discussed his round with Fred Albers from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.

Reavie is at 6 under through 36 holes and will be looking for his first PGA TOUR win in five years.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Steve Flesch turned 46 years old on Thursday but was too tired to celebrate his birthday. An afternoon tee time and the stress of making just his third start on the PGA TOUR this year had worn him out.

But he'll be in a festive mood Friday night, particularly after a 6-under 64 that vaulted him near the top of the leaderboard in the second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. It also ends a streak of 16 consecutive missed cuts; his last made cut was the 2011 Frys.com Open.

"Maybe tonight we will actually have a birthday dinner," Flesch said, "and I will have a couple of cold ones."

Although Flesch is a past champion at Colonial, having won here in 2004, he has never gone lower in a single round. Friday was his 53rd round in this event. He certainly knows his way around here.

"I told my wife when we drove over here Sunday afternoon it's kind of like coming home," Flesch said. "... It's just a place I feel really comfortable."

Flesch has seen limited action on TOUR this year as he juggles his duties on the Golf Channel. He played in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February, and then played in last week's HP Byron Nelson Championship. He missed the cut in both starts.

He also missed the cut in all 12 of his TOUR starts last year. He entered 2013 needing to earn $647,510 in six events to extend his non-exempt Major Medical Extension due to right shoulder surgery.

A big weekend could get him there.

"I've honestly been playing hurt for the last two years," he said. "It isn't much fun. Last year was no fun at all. I'm finally healthy and it's nice to play."