Ryan Palmer parred his final hole at dusk for a 7-under 64 and the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Phoenix Open.
The start of the round was delayed an hour because of frost, and play was suspended because of darkness at 6:05 p.m. with 42 players unable to finish. Last year, frost and frozen greens delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.
"I knew I was going to be here in the morning for the second round, so I wasn't worried about it if we had to come back and restart," Palmer said. "So, I didn't think about it and I just kept hitting shots and sticking to my game plan."
Webb Simpson was a stroke back on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
"It's one of those courses that just fits your eye well," said Simpson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6.
Palmer switched back to a trusted Odyssey putter model after missing the cut in his previous starts this year in the Sony Open and Humana Challenge. The three-time PGA Tour winner made seven birdie putts from 10-15 feet.
"I used the exact same putter the last two years, and of course had two of the best years of my career," Palmer said. "But toward the end of the year last year, around the BMW, I just got frustrated with not making anything, so I thought I'd try something different."
Jarrod Lyle, Harrison Frazar, Derek Lamely, Kevin Na and Chez Reavie were two strokes behind at 66, and Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner and Spencer Levin also were 5 under. Watson and Levin had three holes left. Dufner, a playoff loser last year, had five holes remaining.
Kyle Stanley opened with a 69, four days after a devastating loss in the Farmers Insurance Open. At Torrey Pines, he made a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole of regulation and lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.
"It was just good to be out there," Stanley said. "It was almost therapeutic."
Mickelson files suit
Phil Mickelson filed a lawsuit against an Internet service provider in Canada to learn the identity of a person who has been posting "vexatious statements" that the four-time major champion says is a deliberate attack on his reputation.
"I'm all for freedom of speech, but I won't tolerate defamation," Mickelson said Thursday after his opening round in the Phoenix Open.
In his lawsuit against Videotron S.E.N.C in Quebec Superior Court, Mickelson cited comments posted on Yahoo! Sports from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, in which one or more persons under the pseudonyms "Fogroller" and "Longtitude" make statements that allege, among other things, that Mickelson's wife had an affair and that he fathered an illegitimate child.
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