Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Russell Knox of Scotland were tied for the lead when darkness halted play in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, after a 3 1/2-hur rain delay earlier in the final round at El Camaleon Golf Club.
Play will continue early Monday.
McDowell (pictured), trying to salvage what he can from a dismal year, was a bogey-free 6-under-par for the round and 19-under for the tournament after making three straight birdies through No. 7, and three more in a span of four holes before the end came when he was on the 14th hole.
“After the delay, I’m really, really happy with some of those putts I made,” said McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, who has finished in the top 10 only once in 2015. “It’s a bit of a shootout, so you’ve just got to keep sort of the pedal down out there and try to shoot and score.
” … I think a normal golf course with this type of rain would not stand up to being playable. So big hats off to them, I know they’ve been working hard all week, the greens staff.”
Knox, who claimed his first victory on the PGA Tour and the European Tour last week in the WGC-HSBC Champions sanctioned by both major tours, collected five birdies in six holes through No. 8 and was a bogey-free 6-under for the day when the end came while he was on No. 13.
The Scot made the long trip from Shanghai, China, to Mexico, after his emotional victory.
“All right, I’m going to have a mental breakdown next week, probably,” he said.
Jason Bohn, seeking his third PGA Tour victory, was two strokes back in solo third at 2-under for the day after 12 holes, while Scott Brown was 4-under through 14 and two more shots behind in a tie for fourth with 54-hole leader Derek Fathauer, who was 1-over after 12.
Patrick Rodgers of Stanford was 2-under on the 16th hole and six strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Freddie Jacobson of Sweden, who 2-under through 13 holes, and Justin Leonard and Harold Varner III, who both were at even par through 13.
The Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss., also went to a Monday finish last week. This is the first time the PGA Tour has had consecutive Monday finishes because of weather problems since the 2005 BellSouth Classic and the Players Championship.
