Webb in the mix at wet US Open

ATOP the leaderboard, veteran Karrie Webb and secondyear LPGA Tour player Marina Alex did their best to temper expectations at the US Women’s Open.

Both early starters opened with a 4-under-par 66 yesterday, and that score held up through the afternoon before things turned wet and windblown. Play was suspended in the early evening after a storm packing high winds, lightning and heavy rain pounded Lancaster Country Club.

The sudden halt to the action with 55 players needing to complete their rounds — with at least two threatening the lead — left Webb and Alex as unlikely co-leaders. The 40-year-old Webb reeled off four birdies on her second nine holes and finished with her first score in the 60s in a US Open since 2001, when the Australian won the tournament for the second straight year. This season has been a struggle for Webb, who has three top-10 finishes in 14 starts. An eighth major title would move her into a tie for sixth place with Betsy Rawls, but Webb said it was too early to think about that.

“That’s never been a goal of mine,” she said. “I’m just happy to get off to a good start and hopefully continue to play this good for the next three days.”