90th PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AT OAKLAND HILLS - DAILY NOTES FROM THURSDAY AUGUST 7

Opening-round play was suspended at 5:33 p.m. EDT today at the 90th PGA Championship, due to inclement weather in the Bloomfield Township, Mich. area. Lightning and rain kept 78 players off the course until the round was resumed at 6:58 p.m. Play was then called again due to darkness at 8:39 p.m., with 18 players on the course.

A total of 24 players will begin completion of their first round at 8 a.m. EDT Friday (Aug. 8). The second round is scheduled to begin as planned, at 7:30 a.m. EDT.

SENIOR MOMENT FOR HAAS
* Jay Haas, the 2008 Senior PGA Champion, made eagle on the par-5 second hole (his 11th hole of the day), and rallied to shoot 73 in the opening round yesterday. Haas, who earned his way into the PGA Championship field by winning the 69th Senior PGA Championship in May, made the cut in the 2006 PGA Championship after winning the Senior PGA Championship earlier that year.

ESPOSITO LOW PGA CLUB PROFESSIONAL
* Frank Esposito Jr., PGA head professional at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, N.J., shot 1-over-par 71 today and was the leader among the 20 PGA Club Professionals in the field here at Oakland Hills when play was called because of darkness.

At the 2008 PGA Professional National Championship in June, Esposito earned a berth into the 90th PGA Championship field by emerging with one of the two spots available in a five-way playoff.

Tim Weinhart, PGA teaching professional at St. Marlo Country Club in Duluth, Ga., was shot 74 and was second among those PGA Club Professionals who completed first-round play. Don Yrene, PGA head professional at The Golf Club of Scottsdale (Ariz.), and the low PGA Club Professional at the 2006 PGA Championship, shot 75.

PHIL OF THE DAY
Phil Mickelson (70) posted the lowest first-round score among the 10 PGA Champions in the field this week. Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion, was followed by 1995 PGA Champion Steve Elkington (71). David Toms, the 2001 PGA Champion, and current U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain Paul Azinger, the 1993 PGA Champion, each shot 72.

ONE TOUGH FINISH
* As it was in the 1996 U.S. Open, the most recent major golf championship played at Oakland Hills Country Club, No. 18 ranked as the toughest hole when first-round play was called due to darkness.

There were 69 bogeys on the par-4 18th, which played to a stroke average of 4.612.

TEE MINUS THIRTY
* With wind and hole location as contributing factors, The PGA of America moved the tees up 30 yards today at the par-3 ninth hole. Still, the 227-yard hole had played as the second-toughest hole when play was called because of darkness.

LET THE EAGLES SOAR
* When play was called because of darkness, eight eagles had been made in the opening round. A total of six were recorded on the par-5 second hole, with the other two coming at the par-5 12th hole.

THE FLYING SIKH
* Jeev Milkah Singh of India, whose 68 earned him a share of the first-round lead today, will have a special interest in the Olympic Games that begin this weekend in Beijing.

His father, Milkha Singh, dubbed the "Flying Sikh," was among four runners in the finals of the 400 meter race who all broke the Olympic world record at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. However, Milkha Singh finished .01 second from winning the bronze medal.

In that race, Milkha Singh took off the blocks with a great burst of speed, and managed to lead the pack within 200 meters of the finish line. However, he slowed slightly to check his speed, and as other runners sped past him, he realized his miscalculation. Milkha Singh made a final burst but failed to retrieve the lost ground.

Almost all the first four athletes crossed the line one after another. It was a photo finish and the announcement was held up. When the film was washed and the results were announced, Milkha Singh had come up devastatingly short.

Yes, I do follow the Olympics and I love watching the 200 {meter} and 400 {meter} sprints because Dad used to do that, said Jeev Milkha Singh. I think my father feels worse than what I do because he lost the gold, but he's done a lot for the sport in our country.