Zach and Willett share British Open lead

Downpour delays start of play by over three hours on Friday.

ST ANDREWS: American Zach Johnson and Danny Willett of England shared a one-shot lead on eight under par, at the Open on Friday, after torrential rains delayed the start of play by over three hours at St Andrews.

Overnight leader Dustin Johnson was not scheduled to begin his second round until 5:48pm (1648GMT) and will be looking on with interest as the early starters enjoy dry, windy conditions but soft greens well suited for attacking the flag.

Scotland’s Marc Warren has also climbed the leaderboard with birdies at 4, 5, 7 and 10 and only a bogey at the par three eighth denied him a share of the lead heading down the back nine as he lies seven under.

Jordan Spieth remained the centre of attention as he bids for a third straight major and the Texan will tee off in the group with Dustin Johnson albeit with no chance of finishing his round before nightfall.

Zach Johnson began the day on six under and parred the first four holes before back-to-back birdies propelled the 2007 Masters champion into a tie with former English Amateur champion Willett.

Former world number one Tiger Woods faces a daunting challenge to avoid missing the cut at a major for the second straight time as he was 12 shots off the lead.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2015.

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