LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The second round of the PGA Championship was off to a soggy start and a sudden stop Friday.
A steady rain forced officials to suspend the round after just 20 minutes because of too much water on the putting surfaces and fairways. Work crews already were using squeegees on the greens when another burst of showers hit Valhalla.
Play was halted about 45 minutes before Rory McIlroy was to tee off, and as Ryan Palmer was playing the first hole.
Palmer, Lee Westwood and Kevin Chappell shared the first-round lead at 6-under 65. Palmer was the only one of the leaders to play Friday morning. McIlroy was among those one shot behind.
It already was shaping up as a long day.
Play resumed after 45 minutes, but with more rain in the forecast, it was unlikely the second round would be completed Friday. Tiger Woods, in 109th place and in danger of missing the cut at the PGA for the second time in four years, is scheduled to play in the afternoon.
Adding to the difficulty of a soggy course, players had to contend with mud.
McIlroy, a native of Northern Ireland, typically enjoys soft conditions. That was the case at Firestone last week, and he said he was “licking his lips” when he saw the course. McIlroy rallied from a three-shot deficit to win the World Golf Championship, his first tournament since a wire-to-wire victory at Royal Liverpool in the British Open.
McIlroy won his first major at rain-softened Congressional in the 2011 U.S. Open with a record score of 16-under 268.