Roberto Castro had gotten through 13 holes at Crooked Stick on Thursday when bad weather had its way with the BMW Championship.
The course was cleared by rain and lightning and it stayed clear for three-and-a-half hours.
When Castro came back out, he was just short of the par four 14th in two then proceeded to pitch it in the hole for a birdie that got him to six-under par. He added another at 15 then another at 17. He was eight-under par and was just off the putting surface at the difficult 18th, just 30-feet from 63, a 64 in the bag, surely.
But the former Georgia Tech golfer proceeded to three-putt for bogey, his only blemish of the day. His 65 was good enough for the first round lead that left a lot of players unfinished.
“It’s another week on the PGA Tour,” Castro said of the long wait. “I’m just glad to get the round in.” He added that the chip-in was a good kick-start after the long delay. “Nice to get back out there and make birdie.”
Castro was good enough to hold a one-shot lead over diminutive Brian Harman, who turned in a 66. Dustin Johnson and Jason Dufner were two back with 67s.
It wasn’t a great day for the world’s No. 1 player. On the first tee, he was introduced as “Jordan Day” but Jason Day went on to shoot a one-over par 73.
More than half the field was left on the course when darkness ended play, including last week’s winner — Rory McIlroy. McIlroy was off to a good start and he was three-under through 10 holes.
Hottest player left on the course when daylight ran out was Chris Kirk. He was five-under par for the first nine holes at Crooked Stick.
There could be more rough weather in store for the second round. The field was scheduled to get out early and try to finish the first round then get the second round started.
Only the top 30 players after this event will move on the Tour Championship in two weeks at East Lake.
