The China Mail - Finau surges to lead at weather-hit Houston Open

Finau, who started the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Alex Noren and Aaron Wise, closed his round at Memorial Park with three straight birdies, posting 10 birdies overall on the way to a 13-under par 36-hole total of 127.

His nearest rival in the clubhouse when play was halted for the day was Patrick Rodgers, who carded a seven-under par 63 for nine-under 131.

"It was really good," Finau said of a round that featured a burst of four straight birdies from the seventh through the 10th.

He had closed the first round with a birdie run, and said he carried that momentum into the second round.

"I finished five-under on my last nine yesterday and I just rolled that momentum right into today," he said. "I thought I made a huge putt for par on number one, and then I was kind of off to the races.

"I almost made a hole-in-one on number two 2 and just kind of cruising from there. It was a really nice round of golf."

Tyson Alexander was in the clubhouse on eight-under after a second-straight 66. Noren was eight-under through 15 while Wise was six-under through 12.

The round was to resume on Saturday, with the third round to begin Saturday morning with players going off split tees in a bid to get the event back on schedule.

Noren will have a 40-foot eagle putt when play resumes.

Finau and other early starters had relatively calm weather, and made the most of it on a course set up in expectation of inclement weather.

"They set the tee boxes up to where we had to take advantage. We got the better wave," Finau said. "Thirty-six holes is a lot of golf left, and it's trickier to score with a north wind. But I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Rodgers' round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five third hole, where he landed his second shot within two feet.

The American, in search of a first PGA Tour title, was in the hunt at Bermuda two weeks ago, where he finished tied for third.

"It's a fine line out here," Rodgers said. "It takes a lot of patience. I can't force a win out here on this tour and I can't control the conditions and the breaks or what anyone else does.

"If I do a good job of focusing on what I can control and getting lost in my process of playing, I back myself every time."

I.Taylor--ThChM--ThChM