Zurich Classic 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Golfers have not only had to contend with the TPC Louisiana course at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans over the first two days of the tournament, but they also had to try to beat the weather to get in their respective rounds.  

During Thursday's first round, inclement weather suspended play for five hours, which already meant that Friday's second round would be pushed back. It didn't help that weather once again delayed the second round for almost two hours on Friday, which means that more than 70 golfers will have to finish up Saturday morning.

Here is the updated leaderboard at the time of Friday's suspension:

Jamie Lovemark was the first player in the tournament to get to double digits under par on Friday with a nice six-under performance. He's at 11 under overall.

After four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, Lovemark had a clean back nine in which he tallied three birdies. 

His last came at No. 18 thanks to this approach shot that managed to cut through the blustery conditions to set up an easy birdie putt, via the PGA Tour:

Lovemark was able to put himself in good situations thanks to his driving, as he averaged more than 306 yards per shot. That's 20-plus yards more than the PGA Tour average at the tournament. 

With that kind of distance on those drives, he was able to get to those lower irons in his bag and reach the green sooner. 

It was an impressive outing given the windy conditions that were just a preview of the storms that came later in the day. He spoke about his approach with the PGA Tour after his round:

Jhonattan Vegas overcame a rocky start and is tied with Lovemark after a three-under on the day sank him to 11 under overall.

Beginning on the back nine, Vegas' birdie on No. 10 was quickly nullified by a double bogey on No. 11 after his second shot went out of bounds. 

He rebounded strong, though, with a pair of birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 before turning to the front nine. Much like Lovemark, Vegas kept it clean during the second half of his round, which was highlighted by a downhill putt at No. 5 to put him at 10 under:

Thanks to a birdie on No. 7, he's tied for the lead after 36 holes. 

Thursday's leader Brian Stuard is one stroke back of the leaders with six holes left to play, as darkness suspended his second round. 

His start on the back nine was uneventful as he parred each of his first nine holes to remain three strokes back of the leaders. But two quick birdies on the turn at Nos. 1 and 2 put him right back into contention.

Justin Rose, the 10th-ranked golfer in the world, found himself in a bit of trouble and looks like he'll miss the cut after going even for the second consecutive round. 

He attempted to be aggressive, most notably on No. 11, but sometimes those decisions backfired, via the PGA Tour:

The world's No. 1 golfer Jason Day has eight holes to go to finish up his second round and is tied for 21st at five under overall. 

He used birdies on No. 8 and No. 10 to lower his score and move up seven spots on the leaderboard, as he currently has a bogey-free round. 

Day isn't out of the woods yet, though, as the projected cut line is at two under. Of course, with more than 70 golfers left to finish their second rounds, that number is subject to change. 

But TPC Louisiana is offering some nice scoring conditions despite the wind and rain. If the weather can cooperate in the final two days and things can calm down in New Orleans, scores can get even lower, which will create an entertaining finish to this tournament. 

Stats courtesy of PGATour.com.