I. KIM JETS IN FRONT AT U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

I.K. KIM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – When the rain stopped, Stacy Lewis got off a school bus wondering if she was in the U.S. Open or the twilight zone.

By the time the strange ordeal was over Friday, she had lost her lead and was barely hanging onto her cool.

Going for her second major of the year, Lewis made a bogey and double-bogey shortly after a 66-minute rain delay and the lead she held through almost the entire marathon day at the U.S. Women's Open turned into a two-shot deficit to I.K. Kim.

Kim was at 4-under par with four holes to play when the second round was suspended by darkness. Lewis, who had led by as many as four shots earlier in the day, was tied for second with Amy Anderson and Wendy Ward at 2 under with two holes left.

"We sat in a school bus," Lewis said of the way she spent the delay when the late-afternoon rain hit the Broadmoor. "It was 20 people in a little school bus. There was no place to go, you couldn't do anything, it was hard to get loose again. Just kind of unfortunate – unfortunate the way it all worked out, I guess."

But maybe to be expected during a week that has been interrupted by two afternoon thunderstorms, which has forced backup plans to be replaced by more backup plans.

Only 33 of the 156 players made it through their second round Friday and 66 never made it to their tee time.
Among those were Anderson, the amateur who played six holes early in the morning to close her first round and finished the day in the three-way tie for second.

Another shot back is Paula Creamer, along with Karrie Webb, who is in a group of four at 1 under who hadn't teed off.

Ryann O'Toole headed into the break one shot behind Lewis, but she also struggled on the restart. She made three bogeys over the next four holes to fall to even par with four holes left.

"I have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth," O'Toole said. "But I can always turn that around, reverse it tomorrow morning."

O'Toole was tied for 10th with Angela Stanford, who was one of the fortunate few. She finished her round moments before play was stopped. She completed all 36 holes on Friday and will be lucky to get through 18 on Saturday.

"I feel better than I thought I would right now, but that might still be some of the adrenaline," Stanford said. "I think I feel good because I'm finished."

Seeking to complete the career Grand Slam, Yani Tseng couldn't get much going during her day of start-and-stop golf. She was 3-over par with two holes to play.

"I think I was just trying too hard," Tseng said. "I'm trying to play well, trying to hit it close to the pin. Sometimes when you try harder, the worse you get."

The last hour of Friday's round felt more like a casual walk through the park at twilight than a major championship. The rain and lightning chased almost all the fans away and the players were playing in front of dozens of marshals, a few friends and family and the sounds of children playing on swing sets outside the fences at the Broadmoor.

Quite a different feel from earlier in the day, when some players figured they'd be grinding through 36 holes on a typically difficult U.S. Open setup made tougher by the long days and the long course – a record 7,034 yards.

Nobody was grinding better than Lewis, who became the first (and still only) player to reach 5 under this week with a birdie on the par-4 fifth hole. It seemed like days – not hours – had passed as she walked to the parking lot in the near darkness.

"It's hard to sit in a bus for an hour, then go right back out there and play and get the intensity back," Lewis said.

After a bogey on No. 14, Lewis fell out of the lead on 15 when she left a greenside bunker shot short of the putting surface, then needed three shots to get down from there. She pushed her tee shot on the par-3 16th short right into a bunker and pounded her club into the ground.

After saving par there in the dimming light, she and playing partners Brittany Lincicome and Na Yeon Choi walked off the course, even though the horn hadn't sounded.

One group in front of her was Betsy King, the 55-year-old six-time major winner, who will come back Saturday morning, putt out on No. 17, then play one final hole before she calls it a career. King was 18 over, three spots out of last place, with no chance of making the cut.

Does she wish it was over?

"In my position, certainly," she said. "Because I'm not going to make the cut and I have to come out and play in the morning again."

- Story courtesy of The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

PLAY SUSPENDED WITH LEWIS IN OPEN LEAD

I.K. KIM

Running updates from the U.S. Women's Open

(All times EDT)

8:09 p.m. - Inclement weather moving through the area has led to a suspension of play during the second round of action. Stacy Lewis maintains her one-stroke lead over I.K. Kim and Ryann O'Toole.

7:45 p.m. - I.K. Kim and Ryann O'Toole have moved with one stroke of leader of American Stacy Lewis in the second round of play. Kim has has played bogey-free golf so far in the tournament. Lewis is 1 under for her round at 4 under par. Kim and O'Toole are at 3 under, with amateur Amy Anderson alone in fourth place at 2 under for the tournament.

6:42 p.m. - Stacy Lewis has taken a three-stroke lead during the second round, moving to 5 under par through seven holes. South Korean star I.K. Kim has climbed into a share of second place at 1 under with Americans Ryann O'Toole and amateur Amy Anderson. Kim and O'Toole are through six holes on their respective rounds.

4:04 p.m. - American Stacy Lewis closed out her sizzling round of 3-under 69, giving her the lead following the completion of first-round action Friday at the U.S. Women's Open. Lewis sits one stroke ahead of fellow Americans Lizette Salas, Ryann O'Toole and amateur Amy Anderson.

Karrie Webb and I.K. Kim are among a group two shots back at 1 under heading into the second round of play. Defending champion Paula Creamer and Yani Tseng - the world's No. 1 player chasing the career Grand Slam this week at The Broadmoor - finished with scores of 2-over-par 74 in their respective rounds.

2:33 p.m. – Americans Lizette Salas and amateur Amy Anderson each carded a 2-under-par 70, giving them a share of the clubhouse lead Friday at the U.S. Women's Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

- Photo courtesy of Getty Images

KERR, ANDERSON TAKE EARLY OPEN LEAD

AMY ANDERSON

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Instead of teeing it up when she comes back to the Broadmoor, Cristie Kerr's next shot at the U.S. Women's Open will be a blast out of the bunker on the front, right side of the seventh green.

A difficult shot. It could be worse.

A quirky day of thunder and lightning – but only spits of rain – suspended play Thursday with 25 players making it through the first round. It was a bad break on the opening day of the toughest test in golf -- balky weather that figures to turn one of the most difficult weeks on the schedule into an even bigger grind.

"That's part of the gamble," said Christina Kim, who will try to squeeze in 36 holes on Friday.

The rain halted a mini streak for Kerr, who had made two straight birdies to get into a tie for the lead at 2-under par with amateur Amy Anderson. After her second birdie, Kerr, who opened her round on the back, teed off into the right rough on No. 7, then hit her approach into the sand. That's when the siren sounded and the players headed to the clubhouse.

"At least I'll get to practice some long bunker shots before we go out, so maybe it's a good thing for me," she said.

After halting play, the USGA kept the players in the clubhouse for 2½ hours, but with the thunder still rumbling and the radar blinking red, officials called play. There were 75 players on the course and 66 who hadn't hit a shot. That means nearly half the field, including defending champion Paula Creamer and Yani Tseng, trying to complete her career Grand Slam, could face 72 holes in three days.

The Broadmoor is the first U.S. Women's Open course to measure more than 7,000 yards – quite a haul, even at 6,700 feet in altitude.

"We were actually sitting here debating, what's the better draw?" Kim said. "Is it the one we have and we try to get 36 in in one day, or the one where you have 19 hours between shots in the same round?"

Sarah-Jane Smith of Australia falls into the latter category, but only barely. After hearing her name announced on the first tee box, Smith striped her first shot down the middle of the fairway and started walking. Suddenly, the sirens blared and she made a U-turn back to the clubhouse.

"I've not teed off at all before," she said. "But I've never hit one, then walked straight back in. I'm looking forward to it."

Then, pointing to her husband and caddie, Duane, she said, "He should have the yardage figured out by tomorrow morning."

For the record, Duane Smith says it will be a 150-yard shot when play resumes at 7:45 a.m. local time Friday.

And while Smith is sleeping on one good shot, Anderson will join Kerr in sleeping on the lead.

The second-team All-American from North Dakota State hit her approach on the par-5 ninth to tap-in range for her second birdie of the day. That put her at 2 under.

"The first-day leader," she said. "That's way more than I could have imagined."

She needs to hold onto the lead for six more holes to make it official.

The only other players under par when play was suspended were Inbee Park (through 17), Ai Miyazato (15) and Silvia Cavalleri, who birdied her first hole before play was halted. Karrie Webb was in a group of nine still on the course at even. Michelle Wie was 7 over through 17 holes.

The best score posted among the 25 players who had finished belonged to Kristy McPherson, who shot 2-over 73. That was one shot ahead of Aree Song and seven-time major winner Juli Inkster. Before the clouds rolled in, Inkster stood for about five minutes on the fairway of the par-5, 17th hole, waiting for the green to clear before she tried a 250-yard approach shot on a hole that had been unreachable during the practice rounds.

The shot came up about 20 yards short and Inkster settled for par.

"It's nice" to be done, Inkster said. "It's been a while since I've been on the good side of the switch. It's going to be a long day for them."

Typical of the U.S. Open, rounds were averaging more than five hours. Some of the players were surprised the USGA didn't wait a little longer before calling play, but the threat of rain and lightning never really abated. They'll need perfect weather the rest of the week to close out this tournament on Sunday.

- Story by The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images