hot putter, Australian Rick Kulacz moved to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the 1.5 million euro Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. The 24-year-old from Perth, playing on a sponsor's invite, made the most of his opportunity as he added a stunning nine-under 63 to his first-round 69 to take a one-shot lead over Spaniard world No 13 Sergio Garcia, Ireland's Shane Lowry and Swede Peter Hanson, who were tied second at 11-under 133. Garcia shot a five-under par 67, the same as Hanson, while Lowry, who won the Irish Open as an amateur last year, shot a round of seven-under par 65. England's Chris Wood, Welshman Rhys Davies and German Martin Kaymer, champion here in 2008, were tied for the fifth place at 10-under 134. The reigning European Tour Order of Merit winner, England's Lee Westwood (three-over 147) was the most notable casualty as the halfway cut was applied at two-under 142. Kulacz, who fell in love with the game as a three-year-old when he was forced to stay awake at night after an asthma attack and watch Aussie legend Greg Norman play the Open Championship on television, was three-under at the turn with four birdies and a bogey. But once he drained a 40-footer birdie putt on the 18th, there was no stopping him as he made just about every putt and chipped in as well. Play washed out In Los Angeles, the second round of the Bob Hope Classic has been postponed until Friday because of unplayable conditions at La Quinta, California, Thursday. Organizers had initially pushed back the scheduled tee times by two hours due to heavy overnight rain before eventually abandoning play for the day. PGA Tour officials said a Monday finish was likely after the five-round pro-am celebrity event had lost an entire day's play for only the third time in 51 editions. The last time a full day's play was washed out at the Bob Hope Classic was in the first round of the 1980 tournament. Although further rain has been forecast for Friday, it is expected to be much lighter than the thunderstorms and possible flooding predicted for Thursday afternoon. Little-known American Shane Bertsch held the first-round lead after firing a 10-under-par 62 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the 90-hole event. Rookie Alex Prugh, making only his third appearance on the PGA Tour, and fellow American Jeff Quinney recorded matching 64s on the same Nicklaus layout to share second place. American Pat Perez, who won last year's title by three shots, opened with a 68 at the SilverRock Resort, the most difficult of the four venues.
