With birdie on first hole after play resumes, Kuchar takes lead at PGA Championship

Kuchar doesn’t waste time taking lead at PGA

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Matt Kuchar didn’t waste any time taking the lead at the PGA Championship.

Kuchar made a birdie on his first hole after the first round resumed Friday morning, and finished at 5-under 67. That’s one stroke ahead of Bubba Watson and Francesco Molinari. Ernie Els is still on the course at 4 under, and former Masters champions Angel Cabrera and Zach Johnson are part of a group at 3 under.

The first round was halted because of darkness Thursday night after the start of the year’s last major was pushed back three hours because of dense fog. Fog delayed play again Friday morning, with players waiting 2 hours and 40 minutes to resume their rounds.

The second round is scheduled to start just after noon EDT. However, a storm was heading for Whistling Straits.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — Get ready for another long day at the PGA Championship.

The first round finally resumed at midmorning Friday, following a nearly three-hour fog delay. Ernie Els, Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney are on the course, trying to keep pace with clubhouse leaders Bubba Watson and Francesco Molinari at 4 under. Only half of the 156-player field completed their first rounds before darkness halted play Thursday night.

After the first round is completed, the second will start just after noon EDT. However, there was a storm heading for Whistling Straits.

Tiger Woods was among the players who had to wait out the first fog delay, on Thursday morning. But it wasn’t all bad.

“I got to eat three breakfasts, that’s always good,” he said.

The best part? That wasn’t the highlight of his day.

Shooting 1-under 71, even at the PGA Championship, shouldn’t be that big of a deal for a guy who has held the No. 1 ranking for more than five years. But after the year — not to mention the week — Woods has had, just finishing a round under par is huge.

Woods actually made a brief appearance at the top of the PGA leaderboard after making birdie on three of his first four holes. But he quickly gave way to Watson and Molinari, and needed a birdie on his last hole to stay in the red.

“I played too good not to shoot under par, and it would have been very disappointing and frustrating to end up at even par as well as I played,” Woods said. “To shoot under par just feels like less than I should have shot for the way I played today, and that’s a good feeling.”

Certainly a better feeling than he had last week, when Woods staggered away from the worst performance of his career. He shot a whopping 18-over 298 and beat only one player in the 80-man field — and that was at Firestone, a course where he’s won seven times.

“That’s the way it goes,” Woods said. “Everyone has bad weeks.”