Weather forces 54 hole Monday finish

Dana Quigley made 10 birdies and a quadruple bogey today in the second round of the PGA Seniors' Championship to move within one stroke of Doug Tewell.

Quigley was 9-under through one hole in the third round before play was suspended for the seventh time in four days. Tom Kite and Larry Nelson are 7-under, and Gibby Gilbert 6-under.

More than 9 inches of rain has drenched the Champion Course at the PGA National Resort & Spa. The weather will prevent the tournament from completing 72 holes.

PGA of America officials reduced the championship to 54 holes following today's delay, marking the first time the event has been shortened since its expansion to 72 holes in 1958.

It has been a tournament to remember, though, especially for Quigley, who carded an 8 on No. 11.

Quigley, a former club pro from nearby West Palm Beach, was 9-under through 10 holes in the second round today, one behind Tewell when he approached No. 11.

The 412-yard, par-4 11th has been the toughest hole at the 61st annual Seniors' Championship, playing nearly half a stroke over par. Quigley knows why.

Quigley hit a 3-wood off the tee at No. 11, hooking it left and getting a bad bounce off the cart path and into a hazard. With the ball sitting up, he was able to play it out of the hazard with a wedge.

He bladed the shot across the fairway and into the rough on the other side. From there, he tried to slice a 6-iron onto the green, but the shot went dead straight and came up about 20 yards short of the green.

Quigley chunked his first chip shot and then needed two more to get on the green, landing about 8 feet from the hole. He two-putted from there.

He rebounded, though, and birdied Nos. 12, 14, 15 and 16 to get back to 9-under.

The quadruple bogey was Quigley's second this year. He made one on the seventh hole in the final round of the Countrywide Tradition in Scottsdale, Ariz., two weeks ago.

It highlighted -- or lowlighted -- an exciting second round for Quigley, who is playing in his 87th consecutive tournament.

He had one his best days with the putter, which he attributed to a new grip he picked up from watching Vijay Singh win The Masters. He had 10 birdies, which -- if not for the quadruple bogey -- would have been enough to break Arnold Palmer's course record of 63 set in 1984.

DIVOTS: The cut was 6-over 150. ... Two-time Seniors' Championship winner Lee Trevino withdrew after finishing the second round at 3-over 147. In all, seven players have withdrawn from the 144-man field. ... Hale Irwin, who won three consecutive Seniors' Championships from 1996-98, said he will not be able to finish the tournament. Irwin, 4-under through two holes in the third round, has a commitment to a charity event in St. Louis. ... Japan's Seiji Ebihara, a first-round co-leader at 4-under, fell to 1-over after the second round. ... The back nine played a lot tougher than the front through two rounds, with six of the seven highest-scoring holes on that side. ... The tournament, one of four majors on the senior tour, is being sponsored by Advil.

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