US Women's Open hit by thunderstorms

Play on the second day of the US Women's Open at Oakmont Country Club was called off for the rest of the day around mid-afternoon Friday.
A relentless string of thunderstorms that began with 100 of the 156 golfers still to begin or complete the second round caused play to be suspended. Twenty-eight of the 31 golfers who were within three shots of the lead had played only a few holes or hadn't teed off.
Cristie Kerr, the world's top-ranked female professional, finished her even-par 71 before the pelting rains flooded Oakmont's famed Church Pew bunkers and saturated its super-fast greens. Those greens were beginning to turn a Cleveland Browns-like shade of brown - never a welcome sight in Steelers-mad Pittsburgh - following four consecutive days of 90-degree weather.
Scot Janice Moodie had a nightmare second-round 86 for 164.
Overnight leader Brittany Lang slid from a first-round 69 to a 3-over 74 as temperatures went down but the scores didn't, with Christina Kim a shot back at 2-over 144 following successive 72s.
"We had a very dry course, and it can take a lot of rain," said the USGA's Mike Davis, who is confident that improving weather will allow the biggest event in women's golf to finish on schedule Sunday night.
Kerr is the undisputed favourite to win her second US Women's Open in four years - she also won in 2007 - after winning the LPGA Championship two weeks ago by an unprecedented 12 shots. Only a week's break between majors gives her a chance to maintain her confidence and, arguably, the mental edge she owns over the other golfers.
Taking on 108-year-old Oakmont, its Stimpmeter-busting greens and fabled hazards is difficult enough in a tournament where the leaders may have already seen the last of below-par scores. Taking on Kerr when she's on her game may be equally rough, even if 21 golfers go into Saturday morning within two shots of the lead.
Play is scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, with the third round set for 2:30 p.m.
The leaders won't start the third round until approximately 5:30 p.m. Saturday and will finish Sunday morning. That means Kerr might play only 12 holes or so Saturday, compared to 36 for the less fortunate.
Latest second round scores & totals in the LPGA Tour U.S. Women's Open, Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
COMPLETED SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
143 Cristie Kerr 72 71, Brittany Lang 69 74
144 Christina Kim 72 72
145 Amy Yang 70 75, Stacy Lewis 75 70
146 Natalie Gulbis 73 73
147 Alexis Thompson 73 74
148 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 72 76, Inbee Park (Kor) 70 78
149 Vicky Hurst 72 77, Heather Young 78 71, Yani Tseng (Tai) 73 76, Kelli Shean 70 79
150 Karen Stupples (Eng) 75 75, Alena Sharp (Can) 72 78, Hee Young Park (Kor) 78 72
151 Lindsey Wright (Aus) 78 73, Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 78 73, M.J. Hur (Kor) 70 81
152 Na On Min (Jpn) 73 79, Katherine Hull (Aus) 75 77, Ashli Bunch 78 74
153 Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 73 80, Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 80 73, Anna Nordqvist (Swe) 77 76, Juli Inkster 77 76, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 79 74
155 Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 80 75, Esther Choe 82 73, Alison Walshe 75 80
156 Nicole Zhang (Can) 78 78, Jenny Gleason 82 74, Junthima Gulyanamitta (Tha) 81 75
157 Jessica Korda 79 78
158 Louise Friberg (Swe) 83 75, Victoria Tanco 76 82, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 80 78
159 Bo-Mee Lee (Kor) 84 75, Irene Cho 79 80, Becky Morgan (Wal) 77 82, Janine Fellows 82 77, Kyeong Bae (Kor) 83 76
160 Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 82 78, Veronica Felibert 80 80, Juneau Sarah-maude (Can) 79 81, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 81 79
161 Pat Hurst 81 80
162 Rebecca Lee-bentham (Can) 76 86, Hee-Won Han (Kor) 83 79
163 Sakurako Mori (Jpn) 83 80, Kimberly Kim 79 84
164 Laura Diaz 81 83, Aiko Ueno 83 81, Janice Moodie (Sco) 78 86
165 Gabriella Then 84 81
166 Nicole Vandermade (Can) 84 82
171 Jaye Marie Green 85 86