CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- Chris DiMarco tallied 17 points on Friday to move into the lead at The International as more weather delays have pushed the completion of the second round into the weekend. DiMarco finished with a 36-hole total of 31 points.
Bob Tway posted nine points for the second straight day for an 18-point total. Olin Browne fired off 18 points to recover from a disappointing opening round and finish 36 holes with 17 points. Danny Ellis also had a solid showing on Friday with 15 points and a two-day total of 16.
For the second straight afternoon, thunderstorms forced weather delays at Castle Pines Golf Club. While the opening round delay had already backed up the action, the additional stoppages have left plenty of golf to be played on Saturday before the 36-hole cut is made.
DiMarco, who had to come back Friday morning to complete his first round, has a lot to play for this week as the deadline for players to accumulate Ryder Cup points approaches.
‘Obviously, it’s on my mind, but I’m going out there and I’m playing the golf course,’ said DiMarco, who is currently 19th on the Ryder Cup points standing. ‘I know that if I take care of business here that that will take care of that business. I’m not putting any extra pressure on myself.’
DiMarco jumped out of the gate with a birdie at the first to start his second round on a high note. He then picked up back-to-back birdies from the fifth and converted an 8-foot putt for a birdie at the eighth to up his total for the tournament to 22 points.
The 35-year-old kept the birdie barrage going on the inward half after he hit a 6-iron to the fringe at the par-4 10th. DiMarco drained the birdie putt and pitched in from off the green for a birdie at the 12th.
DiMarco knocked a wedge inside 2 feet for a birdie at the par-5 14th and hit his approach to 6 feet for a birdie at the 15th to reach 30 points. DiMarco kept on cruising with a birdie at the 17th to get to 18 points on his round and 32 points for the tournament.
He needed a birdie at the last to match the one-round record of 20 points, but DiMarco was unlucky on the closing hole. He was scrambling in an attempt to save par and putted from off the green within a foot of the hole. DiMarco had that tap-in for bogey before the horn sounded signaling the first delay of the afternoon.
After waiting for almost an hour, DiMarco returned to the 18th green and rolled in the short bogey putt to complete his second round.
DiMarco, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, has welcomed the modified Stableford scoring system which awards points for birdies, eagles and double-eagles, and subtracts points for bogeys, double-bogeys and worse.
‘I’ve had good success here and I’ve kind of learned how to play,’ he said. ‘Bogeys aren’t bad. It’s okay to make a few bogeys here or there and you just try to stay away from doubles and just try to play as aggressive as you can.’
Tway tallied five birdies and a bogey for his nine points. Browne got himself back into the tournament with a second-round performance that featured 10 birdies and two bogeys, slightly different from the way he played when he returned to the course in the morning to complete his first round.
‘We came back bright and early and just walked down to my first shot, I made two bogeys this morning and couldn’t get anything going,’ said Browne. ‘I just don’t understand it sometimes, I just don’t understand this game.’
As play resumed after the first delay, Rod Pampling, who held the lead after the opening round, was getting started on his second round.
The Australian struggled early with a bogey at the 10th, his first, but he countered with three birdies over his next four holes to get to 20 points. Pampling dropped another shot with a bogey at the 16th before threatening weather forced the suspension of play for the second time on Friday.
Upon returning to the course, Pampling picked up a pair of birdies to stand at 25 points through 11 holes. Geoff Ogilvy has 18 points with six holes to play.
Defending champion Davis Love III has four points through nine holes of the second round to up his total to 12.
The second round will resume at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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