Kenny Perry among leaders in rain-soaked AT&T Classic at TPC Sugarloaf

From WorldGolf.com News Services

While most of the five players who share the first-round lead in the AT&T Classic took advantage of serene playing conditions, Kenny Perry did it the hard way.

With a late tee time, Perry battled through some of the most treacherous conditions of the day at a soggy TPC Sugarloaf Thursday to shoot a 6-under-par round of 66. The veteran golfer is tied atop the leaderboard with Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Byrd and Parker McLachlin.

Somehow, Perry said he was able to have success on a day where play was suspended with 35 players still on the golf course. The downpour was heavy enough that play was halted for 30 minutes midway through the afternoon.

Perry said he was hitting what appeared to be "knuckleballs," but that his bad shots landed in places that he could recover from.

"I chipped nice and I putted nice and I made it on the birdie holes where [the rain] slacked off enough to where I could feel like I could get aggressive," Perry told reporters. "I hit some good shots and made some nice saves coming in here the last couple holes. The last few holes were brutal."

Despite the conditions, Perry played a bogey-free round with three birdies on each side. One of the keys to his good play, Perry said, was that the conditions of the greens remained largely the same throughout the round.

"They're in a drought here. Those greens are still hard as rock and very fast, so they didn't change any all day," Perry said.

Byrd enjoyed much easier conditions for most of his round.

"The course played pretty easy today with the greens being a little softer and there not being as much wind, but you still had to hit good shots and you still had to read the greens well and get it on the right speed," Byrd told reporters. "I gave myself a lot of chances on the greens."

McLachlin, another player who was fortunate enough to have an early tee time, said he felt lucky to be on the right side of the draw.

"Anytime you get the good end of the draw - I think we've all been on the bad end quite a few times — when you get the good end you get pretty excited, especially when you go out the first 12, 13 holes there's no wind and it's just perfect conditions and it's a nice temperature," McLachlin told reporters.

Charles Howell III, David Toms, Ted Purdy and Bob Sowards are all tied for sixth at 5-under 67. A group of 10 players is tied for 10th at 4-under 68, including Camilo Villegas, Stewart Cink, Steve Flesch and Bob May.

Defending champion Zach Johnson is tied for 20th after a 3-under 69. TPC Sugarloaf designer Greg Norman shot an 80, but wasn't even close to having the worst round of the day. Franklin Langham, playing on a sponsor's exemption, took a 13 on the opening hole and had taken 90 strokes through 17 holes when play was suspended.

May 16, 2008