Severe weather halts play at John Deere Classic

SILVIS, Ill. - Long-hitting Andrew Loupe had a red-hot round halted Thursday as severe weather jumbled the schedule at the John Deere Classic. He's in position to post a very low number Friday, if the rain holds off.

Loupe was one of the many afternoon starters who couldn't finish his first round before darkness set in, but he was on fire in the holes he did play at TPC Deere Run, standing at 8 under par after 14 holes. He'll have to finish his round early Friday before the second round begins, but that could be a problem, too - the weather forecast for the Quad Cities isn't good for Friday, either. That only adds to the problems the 46-year old PGA Tour stop has encountered this year.

Going head-to-head with the first Olympics golf competition in 112 years was bad enough. The PGA Tour stop was moved off its usual July dates because that, leading to several top players - including defending champion Jordan Spieth - missing the event. The weather problems made things worse.

Thursday's first round was marred by a 3-hour, 22-minute rain delay before any of the 156 starters could finish. Play did resume at 3:08 p.m., but players who had afternoon tee times were still on the course when darkness set in.

The Olympics and bad weather aside, the JDC has one thing going: The popular Zach Johnson is a clubhouse leader.

Johnson was in the featured first pairing, with other past champions Steve Stricker and Brian Harman. Johnson, who is also on the tournament's board of directors, was by far the best of that trio. He posted a 6-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead with Ryan Moore and Patrick Rodgers among the players who were able to complete their first rounds. Stricker, a JDC champion three times, shot 70 and Harman posted a 71.

Scott Brown also reached 6-under among the morning starters but he made bogey on his last hole in the threesome that finished immediately after Johnson's group. Brown, who needed only 25 putts, was joined at 66 by Scott Pinckney.

Loupe, the best of the afternoon starters, opted to mark his ball on the No. 15 green. He has an 8-foot par putt to start play Friday. Tom Gillis also was a factor after the afternoon starters, standing at 6-under through 16 holes when darkness stopped play. The first round will resume at 7 a.m. today before the second round begins.

Johnson, who has six top-three finishes in 14 JDC appearances and has the JDC logo on his golf bag, started his round at No. 10 and finished that side with 4 birdies on the last 5 holes. That set the stage for his 20th round in the 60s at TPC Deere Run since 2009, the most of any other golfer.

"I'm excited for the week," said Johnson, who assessed his round as "solid."

"It's a little bizarre playing this week rather than in July, but it's never a bad time to be in the Quad Cities."

Johnson had played 12 holes when play was stopped.

"I used it to relax, I ate something, I worked out a little to keep myself loose," he said. "It's not ideal, but we're used to it. You've just got to roll with it."

Rodgers had three holes left when play was stopped. He went to his car and listened to music with friends until play resumed.

"The difficulty of the break was what it was," he said. "It's a little challenging, not knowing when you're going back out."

Moore was negatively affected by the weather delay.

"The stop definitely through me off a little," he said. "My restart wasn't too good, but I finished with a 30-footer."

That saved par and kept Moore in a tie for the clubhouse lead.

In addition to Johnson, Rodgers and Moore also have a good history at the JDC. Rodgers received sponsor's exemptions twice when he was a promising amateur at Stanford. He tied for third last week in the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Connecticut, before making his fifth start in the JDC.

Moore is in the JDC for the eighth time and has had top-10 finishes twice in his last four appearances.

• For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com. Len can be contacted by email at lenziehm@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZiehmLen and check out his posts at Facebook.com/lenziehmongolf.