Little known American Spencer Levin fired an eight-under-par 63 for the clubhouse lead as the $US6.1 million ($A5.7 million) PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open was suspended because of darkness for the second consecutive day on Friday.
Levin reached 14-under 128 through two rounds.
His closest pursuer was fellow American Harrison Frazar, who was six-under for the day and 11-under for the tournament with three holes remaining in his second round when play was halted.
Greg Chalmers, who was the best-placed Australian, managed to finish his second round, shooting a 69 to be nine shots off the pace on 137 in a tie for 12th place.
Jarrod Lyle and Marc Leishman sit a further shot back on four-under for the tournament.
Lyle slid down the leaderboard with his 72 while Leishman is at three-under for the round with five holes remaining.
Fellow Australian Aaron Baddeley (67) fired six birdies to rocket 53 spots up the leaderboard to sit on 139 along with Matt Jones (72).
“Everything was pretty good today,” Levin said. “My putting and chipping feels real solid.
“I felt pretty good going into my second round and it didn’t feel like a second round.”
The beginning of the round was delayed an hour because of frost, and play was suspended because of darkness with 34 players still on the course.
Last year, chilly temperatures and frosty greens delayed play a total of nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish which went to a playoff.
The second round was to continue at 7:30am local time on Saturday which means that for the sixth consecutive year, the cut will be decided on Saturday.
Levin, who had an early tee-off time, finished his round with a seven-shot lead. But an afternoon wave of contenders closed the gap, including Frazar and Webb Simpson.
Simpson (69) and John Huh (66) were in the clubhouse six strokes back of Levin on 134 while Kyle Stanley is alone on 135 after shooting a 66 on Friday.
Levin, who has gone from 131st to 31st on the money list in the past three years, hit 15 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts in the second round.
Levin completed his first round early on Friday, starting with three straight birdies to post a 65. He carried that good feeling over with birdies on his first two holes of his second round.
Levin’s best shot of the day came in the second round when he holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-four 17th.
“I felt good today off the tee and with my irons. It is just amazing how quick your mind can change in this game,” Levin said.
The Phoenix Open, dubbed the PGA Tour’s biggest party tournament, features the par-three 16th hole where boozy fans in the grandstand cheer loudly when players make a good shot and boo drives that end up in the sand or short putts that don’t fall.
Phil Mickelson, who attended nearby Arizona State University on a golf scholarship, received one of the loudest cheers of the day when he birdied 16.
Mickelson finished with a one-under 70 as he parred 18 in fading light. His group was able to finish because Mickelson putted out first on 17 then sprinted to the tee on 18 to get his drive off before the horn sounded so the entire group could be allowed to complete the final hole.