Beau Hossler rode a stellar finish to a 9-under-par 61 and held a one-shot lead when the first round of the Wyndham Championship was suspended late Thursday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.
Only 12 players were still on the course at Sedgefield Country Club when play was halted due to inclement weather. Ben James got into the clubhouse with an 8-under 62, tied with Sahith Theegala for second, just before the weather delay.
Eric Cole is another shot back at 63 and six players were tied at 64 — Matti Schmid of Germany, Denny McCarthy, Davis Thompson, Hayden Springer, Doug Ghim and Zach Bauchou — at the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale.
Hossler, 31, would stand to benefit in a massive way if this were the week he pulled off his first career PGA Tour victory. Hossler is projected to jump 70 places from 122nd to 52nd in the FedEx Cup standings should he win.
The top 70 after this tournament are locked in for the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Hossler rang up four birdies in a row at Nos. 3-6 and added one at the ninth to go out in 5-under 30. He made five straight pars from there and wasn’t on 59 watch, but an eagle at the par-5 15th gave him a boost.
He sank a slippery, right-to-left 27-footer from just off the green there, then birdied Nos. 17 and 18 for a 4-under finish on the last four holes.
James had two eagles during his round, from putts on the par-5 fifth and 15th, but a bogey-birdie-bogey finish prevented him from sharing the lead.
James just turned pro this summer, earning his tour card via the PGA Tour University pathway, and entered the week just 141st in the points standings.
Theegala had a white-hot start that led to a hardly believable card: He birdied every hole on the front nine except the par-3 seventh, which he bogeyed, leading to a 7-under 28 without a single par. From there, he made eight pars in a row before closing with a birdie.
Theegala is comfortably in the playoff field as the No. 43 in the current standings, but a strong finish this week would boost him closer to the top 30. Only 30 players qualify for the Tour Championship following the first two legs of the playoffs.
World No. 3 and defending champion Cameron Young struggled to a 1-over 71 and is in danger of missing the cut Friday.