Campbell leads as second round finally ends

Adam Scott rarely feels a sense of urgency in the second round, but this was different. It was Sunday in the Nissan Open, with clouds gathering on the horizon, and he was one shot out of the lead.

"I did think this may be the last putt of the week here," Scott said. "So I better make it count."

Scott rolled in a 20-foot birdie from the fringe on his final hole for a 5-under 66, completing the second round that he began on Friday. That left him at 9-under 133 with Chad Campbell, who has not hit a shot in two days.

Ultimately, all that did was create even more chaos at Riviera Country Club.

The PGA Tour planned to begin the third round late Sunday afternoon with hopes of finishing 54 holes on Monday, even though the forecast is for heavy rains the first two days of the week.

If the third round can't be completed, the Nissan Open would revert to a 36-hole tournament.

"The way the weather has been, the goal was to get to at least 9 under and see what happens," Scott said.

And everyone knew it.

Darren Clarke was warming up on the practice range next to Tiger Woods, and both said the target was 10 under. Neither made it, although Clarke came close.

Needing a birdie on the 18th hole, Clarke hit a 4-iron so pure that it sailed over the flag and over the green, and he had to make a testy 6-footer to save par for a 68 that left him at 8-under 134, along with Brian Davis (69).

Woods was only two shots behind until he flubbed the 18th. From the right rough, he tried to play a fade around the trees, but the ball plugged into the left side of the hill framing the green. He flopped his pitch to 8 feet, and then three-putted for a double bogey that gave him a 70, leaving him four shots behind.

Some players who wondered if they could even finish 36 holes suddenly were desperate to complete 54.

"I'm one behind. I want to play," Clarke said.

No one wanted to play more than Colin Montgomerie.

Winless on the PGA Tour, Monty surged into contention with a 7-under 64, chipping in for eagle on the short par-4 10th and finishing his round off with a birdie to pull within two shots. J.L. Lewis had a 65 and also was at 135.

"A third round will be a bonus, but it's odds-on with the forecast that we won't finish," Montgomerie said. "That's, OK, though. I started out this year with a 65 in my first two events, and I've had a 64 here. I think it's my lowest round on the U.S. tour. Things are brightening up for me."

Robert Allenby was at 6-under 136 and, like Campbell, had spare time on his hand because he finished his second round Friday before the storms arrived. Also at 136 was Kevin Sutherland (69) and Aaron Baddeley (67).

The cut was at even par.

Weather dictated the rest of the tournament. If rain kept the more than half the field from finishing the third round, then it could revert to a 36-hole event. That would mean money is distributed like a regulation tournament and counted toward the money list, but it would not be an official victory.

World ranking points would be worth only 75 percent of their value, meaning Woods needs at least a third-place finish to replace Vijay Singh at No. 1 in the world. Woods was in a tie for 13th.

If more than half the field completed the third round, the PGA TOUR would be obligated to return to Riviera on Tuesday to try to finish the tournament.

That complicates the rest of the week, because the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship is set to begin Wednesday at La Costa.

"We've been to La Costa so many times before," said Clarke, who won the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2000. "If it's wet here, it's going to be very wet at La Costa."

Divots: David Duval shot 76 to miss the cut by eight shots. But he played on Sunday for the first time this year, and he cashed his first check. Duval's pro-am team finished second, earning him $1,600. ... Jeff Sluman had back-to-back pars from unusual spots. He sailed over the fifth green and onto the tee box at No. 6, then had to play a chip that went up the slope, but under a large tree. He knocked it to 3 feet. Then on the par-3 sixth, his tee shot was on the right side of the bunker in the middle of the green, with the flag to the left. He played it perfectly to about 2 feet for par in his round of 71 that left him at 2-under 140. ... The Nissan Open has been contested over 72 holes all but once in its 79-year history.

Rain washes out third day of play

Play was washed out at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles on Saturday after a second consecutive day of heavy rain, virtually guaranteeing the $4.8 million tournament will carry over into Monday.

Saturday's start at the Riviera Country Club had been scheduled for 0730 PT (1530 GMT) but tee-off times were pushed back to 1130 PT before the second round was eventually suspended.

Weather-permitting, play will resume on Sunday at 0730 PT, officials said.

Some players, including first-day leader Brian Davis of Britain, have not yet begun their second rounds and there is little hope of finishing the tournament on schedule with more rain forecast for Sunday.

The backlog was created when torrential rains swept across the Pacific Palisades on Friday, pushing back start times by four hours.

With half the field still to complete their second round, American Chad Campbell holds the clubhouse lead at nine-under-par 133 after carding a bogey-free six-under 65.

The 30-year-old American is three shots clear of Davis, Australia's Robert Allenby and compatriot Kevin Sutherland.

World number two Tiger Woods, who can reclaim top spot in the rankings from Fiji's Vijay Singh if he can finish outright fourth here or better, completed just four holes and is among a group one shot further adrift at five under.

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