Golf Digest/DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP: England's Phillip Archer took the clubhouse lead after a first round cut short by bad weather at the Dunhill Championship yesterday over the Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa.
Rain interrupted play for just over two hours. Eighty one competitors completed their rounds and 75 were still on the course when darkness fell.
Archer posted a six-under-par 66 before the wind picked up and thunderstorms drove the golfers from the course. Swede Jarmo Sandelin was in the clubhouse on 67 and South African Jean Hugo was also five-under through 12.
Ireland's Gary Murphy was three under par through 12 holes, which included an eagle two at the sixth. Damien McGrane had five birdies in his two-under 70, while Stephen Browne was two-under at the turn. David Higgins was struggling at four over through 12, which included two double bogeys and an eagle.
TARGET CHALLENGE: Darren Clarke got off to a sizzling start in the opening round of the Target World Challenge at Sherwood Golf Club in California yesterday.
He opened birdie, eagle, and got to seven under par through 13 holes, finishing with five straight pars for a 65.
But that was still not enough to keep up with Michael Campbell, who equalled the course record with a 63. But for a bogey on the last, Campbell would have broken the record held by Davis Love and Padraig Harrington.
Harrington had consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th on the way to a 68.
AUSTRALIAN MASTERS: Australia's Nick O'Hern made use of an early start to shoot four birdies and two eagles to card an eight-under-par 64 yesterday to grab a three-stroke first round lead at the Australian Masters at Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne.
Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy had two birdies and four bogeys in his 74.
EUROPEAN TEAMS: First-round leaders Spain were yesterday disqualified from the PGAs of Europe Team Championship at Marbella, leaving Ireland top of the leaderboard going into the second day's play, but the Irish failed to cash in on their bonus.
After the second round, Ireland have slipped to joint fourth place along with Scotland, as joint individual leader, after 18 holes, Brendan McGovern failed to maintain his good form and recorded a non-counting four-over-par 77 yesterday. The best two scores count towards the team total.
Italy's Giorgio Grillo had the lowest round of the second day - a splendid five-under-par 68 - to hoist Italy into a seven-shot lead at the halfway stage.
