ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- The first group at the British Open on Friday began play at 6:32 a.m. local time under conditions that might best be described as cataclysmic.
There was rain. There was wind. Occasionally there was lightning out over the North Sea.
Nonetheless, Jaco Van Zyl, Mark Calcavecchia and Marcel Siem dutifully hit two shots apiece and waded toward the first green at the Old Course. When they arrived, they realized there was a problem.
"The hole was literally filled with water," Van Zyl said.
Tournament officials promptly called for a suspension of play, and the ensuing three-hour delay was just the beginning of a marathon second round that stretched for more than 15 hours and included sun, showers, sunshowers, shifting breezes, emotional goodbyes for Nick Faldo and Tom Watson and, finally, 42 players who were still on the course once the daylight ran out.
Among those players was Dustin Johnson, who had the lowest score in the field at 10 under through 13 holes. Danny Willett was the clubhouse leader at 9-under 135, but Johnson walked confidently through the dusk late Friday as he stalked another opportunity at winning his first major.
"I'm in a good spot," Johnson said. "Definitely got very tricky this afternoon, all day. Even the front side, the wind was howling and it was blowing straight left-to-right pretty much. It played very tough all day."
Johnson and his playing partner, Jordan Spieth, who won the first two majors of the year and is at 5 under, will be among those finishing their rounds this morning.
Once the second round is complete, the cut will be made -- it projects to be at even par, which would leave out Tiger Woods at 5 over -- and the remaining field will then go off in threesomes in the third round.
Everyone -- from players to caddies to officials to fans -- will hope for more placid conditions, although there was no disputing the fact that Friday's weather was quintessentially Scottish. At various points during the day players wore rain gear, short-sleeve shirts, sweater vests, mittens and winter hats.
Johnson began his round shortly before 6 p.m. local time in a light pullover; he finished play for the night using hand-warmers.
Much like Thursday's first round, there were pockets of vulnerability on the ancient links. Willett, playing in the 10th group off, marched through the easier front nine, recording three birdies with bogeys on his way to a 69 that was completed well before Johnson or Spieth were even on the practice green beside the first tee.
Willett was then immediately introduced to the scrutiny that comes with the possibility of an Englishman winning the Open for the first time in 23 years.
His cellphone began buzzing incessantly. The messages included one from his mother that said, "Well done, you've made the cut." His news conference included several variations on the question, "How does it feel to have England's hopes on your shoulders?"
"Looking up there it's still a little bit surreal, but something I'm going to have to get used to," Willett said. "Otherwise, no point in being up there. We're going to try and rest up and then try and go out for another good weekend and, hopefully, we can be up there in two days' time."
Marc Warren, a Scot who shot 69 and is at 7 under, will feel similar pressure while others near the top of the leaderboard include another Scot, Paul Lawrie (8 under through 12 holes), Jason Day (8 under through 11), Louis Oosthuizen (7 under through 11) and Adam Scott (finished at 7 under).
Neither Faldo nor Watson was in the group of contenders, but they still enjoyed meaningful farewells to the Open. Watson, a five-time Open champion who is beloved in Scotland, finished in the near-dark but was warmly received by fans who packed the road alongside the 18th green.
Faldo, who shot 12 over while playing in the teeth of the wind Thursday, looked far happier earlier Friday as he shot a 1-under 71 highlighted by a birdie on the notorious 17th Road Hole.
None of the leaders may feel the urgency of Johnson. This tournament is his first since he three-putted from 12 feet on the final green of the U.S. Open last month, a meltdown that turned him from a would-be champion into a brutal footnote to Spieth's second major of the year.
Johnson spent the early part of this week explaining that he did not need more than a few days to move on from his disappointment at Chambers Bay, and his prodigious drives here have helped him overwhelm many of the Old Course's holes.
He continued to pound the ball Friday but mixed in some deft shot-making as he birdied the fourth, fifth, seventh and 10th holes before giving one shot back with a bogey on the par-3 11th. It was his first bogey of the tournament.
Spieth struggled to find consistency. He made three birdies and three bogeys before darkness came and finished the day where he started. The third member of their group, Hideki Matsuyama, birdied the first four holes and jumped past Spieth to 6 under when play stopped.
Johnson and Spieth played shots up near the par-5 14th hole before marking their balls and heading in for the night. They figure to have a little less than an hour's worth of golf to play this morning before the third round begins.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot an even-par 72 and is at 3 under after the opening two rounds.
John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) had three bogeys and a birdie for a 2-over 75. He sits at 1 over for the tournament and looks to be headed home if the cut line holds at even par.
Sports on 07/18/2015