BRANDON WU lit up a dreary day with a buzzer-beating hole-out eagle that gave him a share of the early third-round lead before play was halted Saturday in the US PGA Tour Wyndham Championship.

Wu, a 25-year-old rookie seeking his first tour title, was tied with South Korean Im Sung-jae on 12-under par, both of them through 11 holes when play was suspended on a day that saw two weather delays.

Officials had hoped to resume in time to squeeze in another hour of play at Sedgefield Country Club, but those plans were scrapped as thunderstorms continued in the Greensboro, North Carolina, area.

Wu started the day in a three-way tie for the lead along with South Korean Kim Joo-hyung and American Ryan Moore.

He fell back with a bogey at the second, but rolled in a nine-foot birdie at the seventh and a five-and-a-half-foot birdie at the 10th.

At the difficult par-four 11th, his second shot from 147 yards out in the fairway took a couple of bounces on the green then curled into the cup moments before the horn sounded to halt play a second time.

“That was a pretty crazy kind of group of events,” Wu said. “We were making the turn and the thunder rumbled. We were just trying to focus on our shots.

“For that eagle to drop right at the horn was pretty special. Felt like I was a basketball player or something at the buzzer.”

Wu said he didn’t find the prospect of a long wait before he could resume unsettling.

“I think it’s just fun being in contention, fun being in the last group today,” he said. “(I) try not to put too much pressure on myself.”

Im, who won the most recent of his two PGA Tour titles at the Shriners’ Children’s Open in October, started the day one off the lead and picked up three shots on the front nine with a nine-foot birdie at the third, an eight-footer at the fifth and a 13-foot birdie at the eighth.

He got to 12-under with a five-foot birdie at the 11th.

Kim was 11-under through 10 holes and in the fairway at 11 when play was halted. American John Huh, who fired a career-low 61 to lead the first round, was 11-under through 11.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat was the leader in the clubhouse on 10-under par 200. He had seven birdies in a seven-under 63 — his best round ever on the PGA Tour by a stroke.

Five more players were 10-under on the course, their sights on improving when play resumes on Sunday morning.

Officials said that even with the delays, they expected to be able to finish the tournament on Sunday.

Meanwhile, after just making the cut on Friday, Ireland’s Shane Lowry is currently tied for 66th on one-under.

– © AFP 2022