Four lead after shortened Friday

Pat Bates shot a 9-under 63 Friday to tie Alex Cejka and Brett Quigley for the early second-round lead at the B.C. Open.

Cejka had his second straight 66 despite a bogey at 18 and Quigley shot 65 as the leaders went to 12-under-par 132.

Steve Allan and John E. Morgan each shot 65 and were one shot behind. Michael Bradley, playing in only his second tournament of the year, was alone at 10-under 134 after his second straight 67.

Lightning and heavy rain forced a three-hour delay at the start. Play began shortly after 10 a.m., but more rain and some standing water on the En-Joie Golf Club course forced a stoppage 50 minutes later.

In all, play was delayed five hours before the weather began to break in the early afternoon. The third round will start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

First-round leader Steve Lowery, who opened with an 8-under 64, didn't start until just after 5:30 p.m. and was 1 under on the round through three holes. Harrison Frazar, who was in a four-way tie for second after a first-round 66, was 1 under after three holes.

Ty Tryon, who was among 15 players at 5 under entering the day, teed off in the last group just after 7 p.m.

Despite the rain, the course drained well, and the players were allowed to lift and place. That sent scores plummeting.

Bates started on the back nine and quickly began his march up the leaderboard. He hit a 3-wood to 10 feet at the par-5 12th hole and drained an eagle putt, then followed that with birdies at Nos. 16 and 18. Three straight birdies after the turn and two more at Nos. 16 and 18 left him smiling broadly.

And why not? Four years ago, a botched neck surgery briefly left him unable to walk or move his left hand, and he was unable to play for a year.

"It's been a long road back, but I'm just fortunate to be back and playing well," said Bates, who finished fifth at Colonial but has missed 10 cuts in 21 tournaments. "It's why I don't hit as far as I used to, but I'm hitting it pretty far right now."

Quigley, fourth last week at the Greater Milwaukee Open, began the round on the back nine with par, birdie, eagle and moved to 10 under with an 18-foot birdie putt at No. 18. He closed with two more birdies at Nos. 3 and 8.

"I was anxious to get out there. That kind of start settled me," said Quigley, who rolled in a 25-foot putt for eagle at No. 12. "I was kind of licking my chops at the break."

The weather certainly helped. After the last delay, the sun peeked through the clouds and there was virtually no wind.

"We really didn't have to play through any of the bad weather, so once we got out there, it was really perfect scoring conditions," Bates said.

The forecast for the weekend was sunny and warm.

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