RICHMOND, Va. – Bernhard Langer shot a 5-under 67 on Friday in his return from a left knee injury, and Tom Byrum had a 65 to take the Dominion Charity Classic lead.

Langer missed the PGA Tour Champions’ playoff opener last week in California after re-aggravating the injury at home doing routine spinning.

The 59-year-old German star leads the 50-and-over tour with four victories and has wrapped up the season money title with $2,697,459. He tops the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs standings, 1,038,941 points ahead of second-place Colin Montgomerie.

Byrum birdied three of the final four holes on The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course.

“My putter was really good,” Byrum said. “I didn’t hit a putt that I didn’t feel good about other than the first hole. The first hole, I three putted. I made a bad stroke at the second putt. After that everything kind of settled down and everything got going and it was good. Drove it in the fairway, which you need to do. Hit my irons on the greens because you can hit the greens from the fairways, the rough is tough.”

He had a one-stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez.

“Played well, played solid all day long and no mistakes,” Jimenez said. “One stroke behind the leader, two rounds to go. Nice.”

Langer birdied the final two holes.

Jay Haas, Rocco Mediate and Scott McCarron matched Langer at 67. The 62-year-old Haas won a month ago in Newport Beach, California, to become the second-oldest winner in tour history.

Tom Pernice Jr., the winner last week at Sherwood, topped the group at 68.

Canada’s Rob Spittle was opened with a 70.

The playoff field was cut from 72 to 54 for the event, and Tom Lehman dropped out because of an elbow injury. The top 36 after the week will qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship next week in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Each dollar earned in the first two events is worth two points – first place is worth $305,000 and 610,000 points this week – and is added to the regular-season total. At the Charles Schwab Championship, points will be reset so that the top five only have to win to capture the Charles Schwab Cup.

LAS VEGAS – Rod Pampling followed an opening 11-under 60 with a 68 on Friday to keep the lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

The 47-year-old Australian rebounded from two early bogeys to get to 14-under 128 at TPC Summerlin. He won the last of his two PGA Tour titles in 2006 at Bay Hill.

“The hole looked really big yesterday,” Pampling said. “I started out today and I didn’t think they’d cut them (the greens) early on. I changed ball markers, and I knew I was playing good, so I just kind of threw out a new vibe, and it started to work. I knew it wasn’t bad, it’s just like it happened, so just let it go. Corrected myself and played nice after that.

Brooks Koepka had two eagles in a 67 to pull within a stroke. He won the Phoenix Open last year for his first tour title and was 3-1 in the United States’ Ryder Cup victory over Europe.

“The ball seems to be finding the hole once we get it on the green, so just get it on the green as quickly as possible,” Koepka said.

Aaron Wise, the NCAA champion last season for Oregon, was two shot back at 12 under with four holes left when play was suspended because of darkness. He eagled the par-5 13th and 16th on his front nine.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was six back after shooting a 64. Nick Taylor, also of Abbotsford, was tied for 26th place while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., tied for 66th.

Pampling bogeyed two of his first five holes, failing to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the par-4 11th and from the rough over the green on the par-3 14th. He rebounded with birdies on four of the next seven holes, birdied the par-4 seventh, three-putted the par-3 eighth for bogey and two-putted for a closing birdie on the par-5 ninth.

“You’ve just got to trust yourself that you’re playing well,” Pampling said. “I knew I had been, not just yesterday, the form had been good before that. I was confident in myself. I didn’t panic. You can easily panic out there, and you shoot 2, 3 over, and at the end of the day you’re just scratching your head. I just relaxed. I knew it was good, so I let it come to me, and it thankfully did.”

Koepka eagled the par-5 ninth and 16th, and had five birdies and five bogeys – the last a three-putt from the fringe on the par-4 18th to drop out of the lead.

“It was kind of sloppy at points, but I felt like I played pretty well,” Koepka said. “The putter was hot, but just got to clean a few things up.”

Chez Reavie had the round of the day to make the cut, shooting a 61 after opening with a 76. He had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch that ended on the par-4 10th, added birdies on 13 and 15 and chipped in from 60 feet for eagle on 16.

“The biggest challenge for me was just to mentally be in a position to even have a chance of playing well today,” Reavie said. “Fortunately, I was. I was positive and just said I was going to go try and shoot as low as I can and see what happens.”

Chris Kirk was 11 under after a 66.

“Kind of felt better and better as the day went on and was able to roll a few in there on the back nine,” Kirk said.

Keegan Bradley had a 65 to join James Hahn (66) and Pat Perez (66) at 10 under.

“My game feels really good,” Bradley said. “I’ve been playing good for a while now. It’s nice to see some results.”

Defending champion Smylie Kaufman was 4 under after a 67. Fifty-two-year-old Davis Love III also was 4 under after a 70.

Oakville’s Town Council voted unanimously this week to extend an Interim Control By-law (ICB) that restricts the use of the Glen Abbey Golf Club to its existing uses for an additional year. The ICB was originally passed February 1, 2016 and with a one-year extension, will now remain in effect up to and including January 31, 2018.

In the meeting, Mark H. Simeoni, with the town’s planning services department, updated Council on the status of key planning studies underway and explained the town’s reasons for recommending an extension to the ICB.

A first draft of the study is expected in the spring of 2017 with public consultation, revisions if any, and implementation to follow as required. A draft of a cultural heritage assessment is also expected to be completed in the spring of 2017.

Section 38 of Ontario’s Planning Act permits a municipality to pass an ICB for up to a year (with the right to extend the by-law for a further year) in order to complete a review or study of land use policies in the municipality.

ClubLink, the owners of Glen Abbey, has appealed the town’s ICB to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). A appeal hearing is scheduled to begin January 30, 2017 at Oakville’s Town Hall.

Canada’s only PGA TOUR event, the RBC Canadian Open, will take place July 18-24, 2017 at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

IBARAKI, Japan – Ariya Jutanugarn chipped in for birdie on the final hole Friday for a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead in the TOTO Japan Classic, the LPGA Tour’s first tournament in the Tokyo area since 1991.

Jutanugarn birdied six of the last 11 holes in a bogey-free round at fan-packed Taiheiyo Club, holing out from 35 feet on the par-4 18th to join Soo-Yun Kang atop the first-round leaderboard. The 20-year-old Thai star also chipped in on the par-4 10th.

“I played good,” Jutanugarn said. “I missed a few tee shots, but I made some putts and those chips.”

She leads the LPGA Tour with five victories and has a 13-point lead over Lydia Ko in the player of the year standings, not that she’s looking that far ahead.

“Right now, no,” Jutanugarn said “I just try to have fun and enjoy every shot that I hit the ball. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

After a week in steamy and stormy Malaysia, the players wore jackets and sweaters in cool conditions on the pine tree-lined Minori Course. Jutanugarn tied for 43rd in Kuala Lumpur after finishing third the previous week in China.

“Last week, I was just a little bit off with my tee shot,” Jutanugarn said. “Today, I just tried to be a little bit more positive and not think about last week and try to have more fun.”

Kang birdied three of her final four holes

“I had really good putting,” Kang said. “Only 22 putts.”

The 40-year-old South Korean player won the LPGA Tour’s 2005 Safeway Classic and is now a regular on the Japan LPGA. She won the Suntory Ladies in June for her second Japanese title.

“I like Japan, people here, foods, and everything,” Kang said.

Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin shot 67. Lewis won the 2012 event at Kintetsu Kashikojima

“I think you have to be a good ball-striker to play well here,” the Texan said about Japan.“ I just like being here. It’s one of my favourite countries that we visit. I think you just kind of come with good vibes.”

Wearing a jacket and rain pants to keep warm on the sunny day, Lewis rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 15th with a birdie on the par-5 17th. The 11-time tour champion is winless in 61 starts since June 2014.

She tied for 33rd in Malaysia in her first start since September.

“I took five weeks off,” Lewis said. “I didn’t play a lot this fall and only played two over in Asia. I just needed a break. It was like starting the year again.”

She married University of Houston women’s golf coach Gerrod Chadwell in August.

“Things definitely are changing,” Lewis said. “I’ve changed my schedule. Changed the way I do things. You just have different priorities and kind of realize there are other things to life other than just playing golf all the time. The schedule is going to change because of it, but that doesn’t change how you play on the golf course. You can still win. You just have a little bit more enjoyment off the course.”

Ha Na Jang and Sandra Gal were two strokes back at 68 in the sixth and final event on the LPGA Tour’s fall Asian swing. Jang won last month in Taiwan for her third victory of the year.

China’s Shanshan Feng, the winner in Malaysia, topped the group at 69 along with Minjee Lee, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, So Yeon Ryu and 2008 and 2010 winner Jiyai Shin. Lee won two weeks ago in China for her second victory of the year. Shin won the JLPGA event last week in Saitama.

American Lexi Thompson birdied the final hole for a 73. In May in Japan, she won the JLPGA’s World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup.

The top-ranked Ko had a 74, making two birdies and four bogeys.

“I didn’t strike the ball very well,” Ko said. “The driver and irons, nothing was really clicking and when it’s like that overall it’s really hard to give yourself a lot of birdie opportunities. I struck the ball a little better on the back nine, but still it wasn’t great.”

Gary Matthews caddied for Ko and also will carry her bag in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Ko fired Jason Hamilton and used Sargunan Suntharaj last week in Malaysia. Hamilton teamed with Jang after his firing.

“We had a few days to work with each other and I think it’s been going pretty good,” Ko said. “I think when I’m out there I need to trust him and he trusts me. It’s been fine. I need to do my role better. Hit the ball better and all that, but it’s been good and he’s got a lot of experience and he brings that to the game.”

LAS VEGAS – Rod Pampling shot an 11-under 60 on Thursday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, missing a chance for a 59 when he parred the final two holes.

The 47-year-old Australian had two eagles and seven birdies in his morning round to match the TPC Summerlin record. He left a 22-footer short on the par-3 17th, and missed from missed from 12 feet on the par-4 18th.

“The putt on 17 just fell short in the jaws and on 18 I gave myself a bad read,” Pampling said. “I thought it was straight, but it just had that little left to right.

“I studied the hole a lot, and I looked at the book – all these new books have the slopes and everything in it. I was looking at it and making sure I was spot on. My eyes were telling me it was pretty straight. I hit it straight. It was on line when it started. It just had a little tail on it. I’m glad I gave it a chance. It didn’t come up short. I just picked a bad line.”

Brooks Koepka and John Huh shot 62, and Billy Horschel opened with a 64. Luke List and Matt Jones shot 65, and Jon Rahm also was 6 under with two holes left when play was suspended because of darkness.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 68, Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 69 and Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, shot a 70. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was 2 under through 15 holes and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 1 under through 16.

Pampling hit a 3-iron for a tap-in eagle on the par-5 16th.

“Just one of those as soon as I hit it, I knew it was good,” Pampling said. “Didn’t know it was that good where I could just tap it in, but I knew it was good.”

Pampling had the lowest score in his PGA Tour career that features two victories. He had a 10-under 61 late last year in the final round of the Australian Open. Chip Beck set the tournament record of 59 in 1991 at Sunrise.

Pampling chipped in from 70 feet for birdie on the par-4 third, holed a 9-footer on the par-4 fourth and holed out with a 9-iron from 134 yards for eagle on the par-4 sixth. He hit a 95-yard shot to 2 feet on the par-4 seventh, and two-putted for birdie on the par-5 ninth.

“The front nine came around quickly, chipping in and then holing out,” Pampling said.

He hit a 127-yard shot to 2 1/2 feet on the par-4 11th, chipped to set up a birdie on the par-5 13th, made a 10-footer on the par-4 15th, and eagled the 16th.

“I’ve been hitting it quite well for at least two or three months,” Pampling said. “I just haven’t been driving it super. And I had my coach come yesterday and we just fixed up a little bit of that. So that was good. And the irons were great. We hit a lot of close shots. It was just nice and solid. There was nothing that was extraordinary, but it was just very good.”

Koepka birdied his final two holes in a bogey-free round. He won the Phoenix Open last year for his first tour title and was 3-1 in the United States’ Ryder Cup victory over Europe.

“I obviously made a lot of putts today,” Koepka said. “I feel like I was striking the ball well. Speed was a lot better than it was last week. So grinded hard early on in the week making sure the putting was right, and it showed today.”

Huh also had nine birdies, five in a row on Nos. 13-17 on his first nine.

“If you put yourself in position, I think you can score low,” Huh said. “If you don’t, then you’re going to struggle. I was able to put myself in a good spots.”

Horschel is making his first start since the BMW Championship in early September.

“Been working really hard,” Horschel said. “It was nice to see the putter working.”

Ram birdied Nos. 13-16 and was facing a 20-foot birdie putt on 17 when play was stopped.

Fifty-two-year-old Davis Love III had a 68, and defending Smylie Kaufman finished off a 71 just before dark.

Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament will take place at five separate sites next spring, with fields of 120 players competing for Mackenzie Tour membership for the 2017 season.

The five 72-hole, no-cut Qualifying Tournaments will take place at: Carlton Oaks Country Club in Santee, Calif., March 13-17; The Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto, Calif., March 20-24; Sun ‘N Lake Golf Club in Sebring, Fla., April 10-14; PGA Village’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla., April 17-21; and Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, British Columbia, May 1-5.

Players will have an opportunity to qualify at one of the five sites, with official details on the number of membership cards and playing status to be announced at a later date.

“The interest from players in qualifying to compete on the Mackenzie Tour has grown in each of our first four seasons, and we felt it was important to add a fifth site in response to give as many players as possible the opportunity to qualify,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to hosting players at each of these five tremendous venues next spring as they take the first step on the path to the PGA TOUR.”

Carlton Oaks, which has hosted PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour Q-School, returns as a host from 2016 Mackenzie Tour qualifying in addition to a second California site at Soboba Springs, which hosted the Web.com Tour’s Soboba Golf Classic from 2009-2012.

Sun ‘N Lake, which annually hosts PGA TOUR Latinoamérica qualifying, joins PGA Village’s Wanamaker Course, a past host of PGA TOUR and Web.com Tour Q-School as well as the PGA of Canada Assistants’ Championship, as Florida sites.

The spring’s final Qualifying Tournament will return to Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Courtenay, British Columbia, as part of a deal to host Mackenzie Tour Qualifying through 2020.

The application to enter Mackenzie Tour qualifying will be open to the public live at www.pgatour.com/MackenzieTour on January 19th, 2017. Entry fees will once again be $2,750 USD.

The full 2017 Mackenzie Tour schedule will be announced in early 2017.

NAPA, Calif. – Johnson Wagner chipped in for birdie, and wound up taking a one-shot lead in the Safeway Open by keeping bogeys off his card as the rain began to pound Silverado on Saturday.

Wagner was at 15-under par through 15 holes when the third round was halted by the wet conditions. The course was playing so long and tough at that point that Wagner hit a driver and a fairway metal and still had a 9-iron for his third shot.

Scott Piercy, who had led from his opening 62 that set the course record, was one shot behind and just short of the par-5 16th in three shots when he told officials he couldn’t continue. The front of the green was one big puddle, and it wasn’t getting any better. Patton Kizzire also was 14 under through 16 holes.

Paul Casey, in the final group with Wagner and Piercy, was two shots behind. Casey hit a tee shot on the par-5 fifth hole that clipped a tree, ricocheted somewhere and was never found, costing him two shots.

Phil Mickelson hit a wild tee shot on the par-5 18th in the rain and made bogey for a 69, leaving him six back.

They were still in the game, mainly because of the rain. Shots became longer. Putts became more difficult to hole. The players still on the course, which included Martin Laird at 12 under through 16 holes, were to return Sunday morning.

Starting times for the final round already have been pushed well forward because of more rain in the forecast.

No person was more responsible for the PGA Tour’s season-opening event having a decent chance to finish than JT Poston. In his first PGA Tour event, he holed an 8-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 69 that moved the cut line to 3-under 141.

That meant 70 players made the cut. His birdie knocked out 16 players.

Piercy still had the lead after finishing his second round in the rain-delayed event Saturday morning. He made only one birdie coming in for a 67, but that was enough to give him a three-shot lead over Casey and Wagner going into the third round.

Casey had another lost ball late in the second round, but this turned out much better. He was about 30 seconds away from abandoning the search when a spectator held up a ball with the Nike swoosh and a blue pen dot and said, “Is this it?” The spectator had found it in the hazard, so while Casey still had a one-shot penalty, he was able to drop away from the grandstands and save par for a 68.

Casey birdied the par-3 second hole in the third round from 6 feet, and he was on the verge of getting within one shot of Piercy with a 4-foot birdie putt on the next hole until he missed it. Two holes later, the lost ball led to double bogey.

Piercy dropped a shot on No. 6, though it was a good bogey. He was stymied by a tree from the fairway and right of the green, played back to the fairway and hit a 100-foot pitch-and-run to 2 feet. He also missed a pair of birdie putts inside 6 feet. One was at No. 8, downhill with a wicked break from right-to-left. The other was on the 10th hole.

Wagner, meanwhile, plodded along. He was short of the green on No. 8 when he chipped in for birdie, and his chip from short of the ninth green lipped out. He pulled within one shot of the lead with a short birdie on the 10th, and caught Piercy with a 30-foot birdie on the 12th.

Piercy fell out of the lead with a bogey from just off the 14th green.

Kizzire started the third round six shots behind and made up ground quickly with five birdies on the front nine, only one of them longer than 12 feet. He finally dropped back in the rain, three-putted the 14th when his birdie attempt rolled some 6 feet by.

Cody Gribble, the lefty from Texas, was having the best rookie debut and was three shots off the lead until a double bogey on the 17th. He was at 10 under and in the rough left of the 18th fairway when play was halted.

Right behind him was Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes. The Dundas, Ont., native was 9-under and had a share of 10th with the third-round set to resume Sunday morning.

CARY, N.C. – Bernhard Langer birdied the final four holes for his second straight 5-under 67 and a two-stroke lead Saturday in the PGA Tour Champions’ SAS Championship.

Langer had a bogey-free round at Prestonwood in the regular-season finale. The 59-year-old German star leads the tour with four victories and earnings of $2,512,659. He won the 2012 event and tied for third the last two years.

“I played pretty steady golf throughout the whole day,” Langer said. “Had to be very patient in the middle of my round because just the putts didn’t go in. I didn’t hit my irons really close, had a few chances here and there, but just didn’t make anything. Then toward the end I hit the ball really well. Hitting irons a little closer and finally made some good putts coming in.”

Langer is tied for second with Lee Trevino with 29 career victories on the 50-and-over tour. Hale Irwin is the leader with 45.

“Two shots is nothing,” Langer said. “You can lose two shots in one hole. You make a bogey and the other guy makes a birdie and it’s gone. You still have to have the mindset of going out and playing hopefully the best round or one of the best rounds of the day.”

Larry Mize and first-round leader Doug Garwood were tied for second at 8 under. Mize had a 69, and Garwood followed his opening 65 with a 72. Jeff Sluman (67) and Senior British Open winner Paul Broadhurst (69) were 7 under.

The top 72 players on the money list after the tournament – and one player in the top 10 in the event but outside the top 72 for the season – will get spots in the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs opener – the PowerShares QQQ Championship at Sherwood in California on Oct. 28-30.

Langer began the late with a 12-footer on the par-4 15th, and got up-and-down for birdie from over the green on the par-5 16th.

“Driver, 3-wood straight at the pin and rolled through the green into the rough and had a very tough pitch because it was straight downhill,” Langer said. “Played it pretty decent, got it to about 5 feet.”

He added 14-footers on par-3 17th par par-4 18th.

“That was nice because I hit a good putt, but it didn’t turn until the very, very end and just snuck in on the high side,” Langer said about 17. “That was nice to see that one turn in. And then 18 was a perfect putt, went right in the middle.”

Defending champion Tom Lehman was tied for 10th at 4 under after a 68.

INCHEON, Korea, Republic Of – Alison Lee took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship, putting the 21-year-old UCLA student in position for her first victory.

Lee shot a 4-under 68 in calm and firm conditions at Sky 72, saving par on 17 and birdieing 18 to stretch her margin over U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang – her U.S. Solheim Cup teammate.

“The past few days, all week, I’ve been striking the ball really well,” Lee said. “I’ve been giving myself a lot birdie chances. Even though I shot 4 under today, I still left a lot of birdie putts other there.”

Playing her second season on the tour while remaining in college, Lee had a 13-under 203 total on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course.

“Everyone back home is cheering me on,” Lee said. “Even my roommates and some of the girls in the sorority. They know nothing about golf, but they’ve been tuning in to the Golf Channel.”

Lang had a 72. South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim, the winner two weeks ago in China in the first of six straight events in Asia, was third at 9 under after a 69. She also won an event in Germany last month.

Lee was asked about sleeping on the third-round lead.

“I have to go back and do some reading for class, so that’ll keep my mind off it for sure,” Lee said “I have reading for every class. I’m behind in every class.”

She also has some time for fun, starting at the Delta Gamma House.

“We have a lot of sorority stuff when I get back home, too,” Lee said. “We have big/little reveal on Thursday where I get my little sis.”

And there’s rooting for the Bruins’ football team.

“I haven’t missed any home games yet and I don’t think I will,” Lee said.

Lee rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 14th to birdie the 15th. A day after chipping in for eagle on the short par 4, she hit a full approach that tracked across the green to 4 feet.

After missing a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th, she got an 8-foot comebacker to fall for par on the par-3 17th. She made a 4-footer on the par-5 18th, seeing the line when Cristie Kerr – the third member of the all-Solheim Cup (and all-PXG equipment) group – hit a bunker shot inches behind Lee’s marker and holed her birdie putt.

Lee also rebounded well from her first bogey, following a dropped shot on the par-3 third with four straight birdies. She then made six pars before missing a 5-footer on 14.

“On No. 3, I missed like a 3-footer for par,” Lee said. “I three-putted and that kind of spooked me. … I think the bogey almost helped because it kind of snapped me back into the game and got me more focused.”

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda had a 69 to reach 8 under, and Kerr’s 72 left her at 7 under with Taiwan’s Candie Kung (69) and South Korea’s Min-Sun Kim.

Sung Hyun Park, tied for the lead early in the round, had consecutive double bogeys on the back nine in a 73 to fall to 6 under. The Korean LPGA member tied for second behind Lexi Thompson last year.

Thompson also was 5 under a 72, making five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. She and Lang are the only U.S. winners this year.

In Gee Chun, the top-ranked South Korean player at No. 3, was 3 under after a 69.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was 1 over after a 73. She has four victories this year, one behind second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn for the tour lead. Jutanugarn had a 69 to get to 1 under.

Fourth-ranked Brooke Henderson had her worst round of the season, shooting a 78 alongside Ko to drop to 5 over. The Canadian teen plans to play all six week in Asia.

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., had a 71 to sit tied for 32nd at 1-under.

Australia’s Su Oh had a hole-in-one with an 8-iron on the 144-yard 17th. She was 1 under after a 67.

NAPA, Calif. – Scott Piercy keeps finding ways to score even when he’s not making a lot of putts.

Piercy pitched in from 40 yards for eagle on the par-5 ninth hole Friday, helping him keep a two-shot cushion at the rain-delayed Safeway Open until it became too dark to continue.

A steady rain that fell on Silverado for most of the bleak day halted the second round for 2 hours, 36 minutes as water began to pool on the tee boxes and the corners of the greens. The delay meant the second round could not be completed until Saturday morning.

Bill Haas had a 2-under 70 in the morning and finished 36 holes in 8-under 136.

Piercy, who opened with a course-record 62, made only one of his four birdie chances until his eagle at No. 9, and he followed with a 10-foot birdie on the next hole to reach 14-under par.

He missed a 5-foot birdie on the 12th hole, his last of the day.

Johnson Wagner was at 12 under and had a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th hole when he decided to wait until morning. Paul Casey, who opened with a 64, recovered from two bogeys late on his front nine with three birdies over his next four holes. He was 11 under through 12 holes, ending his day with a 35-foot birdie putt.

“In my mind, I wanted to shoot 3 under on the front,” Piercy said. “And luckily, I was able to do that.”

Piercy converted only one of four reasonable birdie chances, making a 7-foot putt on the par-5 fifth hole. The next par 5 was into the wind, though he was mildly surprised that a 3-wood came up so short of the green in the first cut.

“I had a good angle, though, kind of shooting straight up the green,” he said. “When you make it from 40 yards, it’s luck. I hit a good shot. I landed it pretty much where I wanted to and it reacted good. Whenever it goes in, that’s a bonus.”

No one from the afternoon starters finished the second round, which was to resume at 7:45 a.m. PDT. The third round was to be played in threesomes off both tees, though more rain was in the forecast for the weekend.

Haas was hopeful of at least staying close to the leaders. That depended on Piercy, Wagner and Casey, and perhaps a few others.

Haas was one of the “replacements” for Tiger Woods, in this case taking the spot that had been set aside for Woods in the early-round groups. Haas doesn’t know why he was chosen. He just considered it a treat to be able to watch the exploits of Phil Mickelson and the rhythmic swing of defending Emiliano Grillo.

And they were able to watch Haas post the lowest score from the group.

Haas made it through the tough conditions brought on by rain Friday morning at least got him into the mix going into the weekend of the PGA Tour season opener at Silverado.

Haas was at 8-under 136, the low score among those who finished 36 holes. Mickelson had another 69 and was at 6-under 138. Grillo played bogey-free after the delay for a 70 and was at 5-under 139.

Woods had planned to play at Silverado and even entered the tournament on Friday. The PGA Tour decided to arrange the groups so that Woods played with Mickelson and Grillo. Woods, however, withdrew on Monday saying that his game was “vulnerable” and not where it needed to be.

Haas took that spot in the group, and all three have put on a good show.

Grillo had a 35-foot birdie putt that he left 10 feet short on the 11th hole, his second of the round, when the rain was at its worse. He made it through the back nine without any more mistakes, and then ran off three straight birdies on the front nine .

Mickelson returned from the rain delay in much worse shape. The driver slipped out of his hands on his first shot at the par-4 13th and led to a snap-hook out-of-bounds. He managed to make a 10-foot putt to escape with bogey .

Lefty made another bogey on the par-3 seventh when he pushed his tee shot left of the green, left of the gallery and next to a beer concession. From rain-soaked pine bark, he hit a flop to 12 feet and narrowly missed the putt. There were plenty of good shots, too, however, and Mickelson had control of his irons, which was key.

The greens were so soft from rain that it was critical not to spin the ball back too much around the hole.

“To be able to get the distance control right, the trajectory, the spin right on spongy greens and give myself as many birdies as I hit, I think this is some of the best iron play that I’ve had,” Mickelson said. “And then I hit a few wild ones, too, so I guess it’s kind of my normal game.”

Mickelson shared 10th with a slew of players including Canadian PGA TOUR rookie Mackenzie Hughes. The Dundas, Ont., native was 6-under after a second consecutive 69 Friday.