Four tied for lead in chilly Phoenix Open

Published Feb. 3, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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Bill Haas, Jason Bohn, Tom Gillis and Champions Tour player Tom Lehman shot 6-under 65s in chilly conditions Thursday to share the lead in the suspended first round of the Phoenix Open.

The start of play was delayed four hours because of heavy frost at TPC Scottsdale and only the scheduled morning starters completed the round.

''It's cold,'' Haas said. ''You've got four layers on.''

Another long frost delay was expected Friday, likely forcing most of the second round to Saturday and possibly setting up a 36-hole finish Sunday.

Lucas Glover was a stroke back along with Chris Couch and Ben Crane.

''It was cold, and it's getting colder,'' Glover said.

Phil Mickelson, coming off a one-stroke loss to Bubba Watson last week at Torrey Pines in San Diego, topped the group at 67.

''It wasn't too bad,'' said Mickelson, who played his final nine holes in short sleeves. ''I expected the golf course to be frozen and balls to be bouncing on the greens quite a ways. It played terrific. The greens were receptive.''

Haas was amazed that his playing partner didn't need a sweater on the final nine.

''I don't know how he was doing it because I didn't think it was that warm out,'' Haas said. ''Better than it was in the morning, but it's still pretty cold.''

Watson, also playing in the group, started play with a ski cap and kept his hands warm with mittens between shots. He shot a 70.

Gillis said it seemed colder than it was over Christmas in Michigan when he played ice hockey on a frozen lake.

''I was wearing the same stuff and it felt a little colder today,'' Gillis said. ''Probably because we weren't moving as much as we were when we were playing hockey.''

Lehman won the tournament in 2000 for the last of his five PGA Tour titles. The 51-year-old won the Senior PGA Championship last year and opened the season two weeks ago with a second-place finish in the Champions Tour event at Hualalai.

''It was chilly, but once you get playing, you kind of forget about it,'' Lehman said. ''Somebody mentioned about playing in Minnesota where I grew up. There were some days there where it was so brutally cold that I can tell you, one time in high school, a kid broke his hand, but didn't know it until the ride home because his hands were numb all day. That's cold. Today wasn't there.''

Fellow Champions Tour player Mark Calcavecchia, a three-time winner at TPC Scottsdale, had a 77. Colombian star Camilo Villegas also struggled in the cold, shooting a 78 - the worst round of the day.

Defending champion Hunter Mahan was even par after five holes.

Geoff Ogilvy was 1 under through six holes in his first start since gouging a finger on a coral reef in Hawaii before the Tournament of Champions. He needed 12 stitches to repair the cut to the side of his knuckle.