Crowd at top in stormy tourney

Two co-leaders not able to finish; Johnson struggles.

O n c e t h e r a i n f i n a l l y stopped, the wind took over Friday in the Wells Fargo Championship. Billy Hurley III and Seamus Power of Ireland did their best to figure out the strong gusts and wound up atop the leaderboard at the end of a long day in Wilmington, N.C.

The second round started three hours late because of a violent storm that dumped nearly 2 inches of rain on Eagle Point, and 65 players will try to complete the round this morning.

Hurley hit a 4-iron from 174 yards that came up 15 yards short, and he managed to get up-and-down to cap off a strong finish for a 3-under 69. Power shot a 71 and joined Hurley at 5-under 139.

John Peterson’s last hole was a birdie on the par-5 12th. He was at 5 under and had six holes to play. Francesco Molinari of Italy, who opened with a 66, also was at 5 under and had seven holes remaining.

Dustin Johnson couldn’t g e t o f f t h e c o u r s e f a s t enough. In his first tournament since a slip down the stairs knocked him out of the Masters, Johnson opened with a tough par save and a birdie to get within t wo shots of the lead until dropping shots on a pair of par 3s, getting out of position off the tee on the reachable par 5s and ending with a third bogey on No. 13.

Johnson was 2 over for his round, five shots out of the lead.

Wi t h t h e wor s t o f t h e weather out of the way, one bizarre dynamic was in play depending on how the round ends. When play was halted by darkness, 80 players were at 1 over (either finished or on their back nine).

That could mean only a six-shot separation between leading and making the cut on the number, meaning a wide-open weekend.

The key was to get through Friday’s wild weather.

The wind was so strong that it blew Phil Mickelson’s hat off his head as he was preparing to hit his tee shot. Mickelson went along nicely until missing the green to the right on No. 9, dumping a chip into the bunker and making double bogey on his last hole for a 72. He was at 1-under 143.

Champions: Tom Lehman shot an 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead in the Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands, Texas.

Kirk Triplett and 63-yearold Jay Haas were tied for second at 67. John Daly, Mark Brooks, Russ Cochran and Paul Goydos were another shot back, and Bernhard Langer was among a group of five players at 69.

Coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, Lehman won the Tucson Conquistadores Classic in March for his 10th victory of the 50-and-over tour.

On a sunny day with a steady wind hovering around 15 mph, Lehman hit 12 of 14 fairways on the 7,002-yard layout and reached 14 greens in regulation. He needed just 24 putts and had six birdies on the back nine, including the last four holes, for his lowest round of the year.

Defending champion Jesper Parnevik had a 71.

LPGA: Ariya Jutanugarn won a sister showdown in the Lorena Ochoa Match Play, while Lydia Ko, Michelle Wie and Cristie Kerr also advanced in Mexico City.

The t hi rd- r anked Jut a - nugarn edged older sister Moriya 2 up in the second round, and Ko beat Jennifer Song 1 up to guarantee staying No. 1 in the world. Wie topped Laura Gonzalez Escallon 3 and 2, and Kerr defeated Jenny Shin 4 and 3.