AUGUSTA, Ga., April 11 (UPI) -- A day of wet, windy, dawn-to-dark golf Friday resulted in a left-handed Canadian taking the lead at the Masters and the world's best player trying to stage the biggest rally in the history of the tournament.
One dozen hours passed from the time Sandy Lyle hit the first shot of the 67th Masters into the gloom and mist until the moment the siren blew to signal the weary players off the Augusta National Golf Club course.
In between, the sun came out for the first time in almost a week, the world of international golf had been introduced to a potential new star, six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus had shot the worst competitive round of his professional career and the best players in the world had seen about all they wanted to see of the steep hills and slick greens of one of the sport's landmarks.
Most of them, however, were faced with another early wake-up call Saturday in order to complete the second round of the first major championship of the year.
After week-long rains forced postponement of the opening round of the tournament Thursday, Masters officials attempted to squeeze the first 36 holes of the event into one day. They did not come close.
Only 18 members of the 93-man field could complete the second round before dark. The remainder will resume play at 8:30 a.m. EDT Saturday, after which the field will be cut to the low 44 players and ties and the third round will begin.
Mike Weir, twice a winner on the PGA Tour this year, emerged as the front-runner, standing at 6-under through 12 holes of his second round.
"I knew it would be a tough challenge to stay with it mentally on a day like this," Weir said. "There was a lot of time for your mind to wander. I tried not to let it do that.
"I would have liked to have finished the round because I was in a good groove."
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, who shot a 6-under 66 in the opening round Friday to take a brief three-shot advantage, played the first 10 holes of the second round in 2-over and was alone in second place, two shots behind Weir at 4-under for the tournament. Clarke had the lead late in the day, but bogeyed the ninth and 10th holes just before play was halted.
Phil Mickelson, often a challenger but never a winner in a major championship, was 2-under with seven to go. He birdied four of the first five holes in the second round after opening with a 73.
And alone in fourth at 1-under with eight holes to play was U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes, who began the long day at the Augusta National as a relative unknown and ended it as a threat to become the first amateur winner of the Masters.
Barnes played Friday in the company of Tiger Woods, who is attempting to become the first player in Masters history to win the tournament three years in a row.
And while it was a difficult day for a lot of players, it was an especially difficult day for Woods. He had to chip in from 50 feet at the first hole of the day just to save a bogey, failed to make a birdie in a round for the first time in four years and wound up with a 76 that was his highest score as a professional at the Augusta National.
That left him 10 shots behind after 18 holes. No one has ever shot a score as high as 76 in the opening round of the Masters and won the tournament.
Woods battled back with three birdies in a four-hole stretch during his second round, but he was at 2-over and eight shots behind Weir with seven holes remaining in the second round.
"I'm right where I need to be," Woods said. "I've still got a chance at this tournament and there's a long way to go. The leaders aren't going to run away and hide here with the conditions the way they are.
"Obviously, I would like to be a little bit better than I am. But I'm on the right track."
The grueling day turned out to be one of the most unique in the history of the tournament. It began cold, misty and windy and eventually turned sunny. Even though the conditions for the golfers improved, the spectators had to contend with walkways that became quagmires.
Through it all, the golf course provided as difficult a test as it has in years. Only four players were under par at the end of the day and it was an especially tedious grind for the older players in the field.
Nicklaus, who turned professional 41 years ago, shot an 85. It was his worst round ever in a PGA Tour event.
Tom Lehman had a 75 in the first round, Davis Love III struggled to a 77, Padraig Harrington endured a 77, Colin Montgomerie settled for a 78, David Duval had a 79 and Justin Leonard shot a 44 on the back nine en route to an 82.
Among those still in contention, meanwhile, were Brad Faxon, Jonathan Byrd, Paul Lawrie, Vijay Singh and David Toms -- all of whom were at even par in the midst of their second rounds.
The group at 1-over included Jeff Maggert, Nick Price, Billy Mayfair, Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo, Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia.
As the play begins Saturday, some of the focus will be on a protest off the golf course by a group lobbying for the Augusta National to admit a woman member.
On the course, however, the chief attention will be the players at the front of the pack.
"If you would have told me I would be 4-under par after 28 holes last night, I would have bitten your hand off," said Clarke, who like Weir and Mickelson is seeking his first major title. "It was a long day today, but I don't feel all that tired. I think my thick legs carried me through."
The spotlight will also fall on Barnes, who in the first round posted a 3-under 69 and bested Woods by seven shots.
"I didn't think about being in front of him by seven," Barnes said. "I was thinking that I played a solid round.
"I was nervous on the first tee and hit a hook over in the trees. Tiger came over to me and said, 'relax, things will be all right. It is going to be a long day.' Things went well after that. I hit a great recovery shot and then Tiger came up to me and said, 'see.'"
After the competitors finished their first round Friday, they had only a half hour to eat and rest before they started out for another trip around the hills and valleys of the Augusta National.
As the players began to leave the course for their short break between rounds, their feelings were summed up by the terse comment offered by Price as he headed into the clubhouse.
"Pretty wet," he said.
"It was the most difficult I've ever seen the course play," said former champion Charles Coody, who has been coming to Augusta since 1963 and who shot an 83 in the opening round. "I kind of wish I could have kept going. I'm afraid if I sit down, I won't get up."
As difficult as it was for the players, it was also a chore for the spectators who chose to walk the course instead of sitting in one of the many grandstands that dot the landscape. The pathways and crosswalks were turned into quagmires and one man who slipped and fell on the downhill walk alongside the 10th fairway was unable to get to his feet and required medical assistance.
"It was bad early, but the course became a little more playable as the day went on," said Faxon, who shot a 73 to start the tournament.
"I know that it is a lot nicer inside the ropes than it is outside."
"It was cold, wet and windy," added Jeff Sluman.
There was not an easy hole on the course Friday, but the 465-yard, uphill, into-the-wind 18th was a brutal test.
"Let me give you a tip," said Fuzzy Zoeller. "Don't play 18. I hit driver, 3-wood there. It is one, long hole."
