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GREENSBORO — If Wyndham Championship officials had their way — and let's face it, tournament chairman Bobby Long usually gets what he wants -- they'd stick Thursday's leaderboard in the back of the freezer and pull it out in time to thaw for Sunday's final round.

Nothing against clubhouse leaders Chez Reavie, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore, each of whom worked hard to record a 6-under 64 before rain washed out much of the first round. But Reavie, Snedeker & Moore sounds more like a law firm than a leaderboard.

Ah, but look who's lurking:

l Sergio Garcia, the world's seventh-ranked golfer, U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Boo Weekley are 3-under with a lot of golf in front of them when the first round resumes at about 7:45 a.m. today.

l Freddy Couples, who came looking for golfers to round out his Presidents Cup team, shot an impressive 66 himself and sits two shots off the lead.

l And John Daly, resplendent in those lemon-and-lime pants, also shot a 66 — his best round this summer.

On a day filled with lightning, rain and mud — lots of mud — there were enough events and convulsions at soggy Sedgefield Country Club to fill an entire tournament. But the biggest commotion might have come off the course.

A rain delay that lasted for more than four hours barely seemed to bother players, many of whom killed time texting, eating and watching television in the locker room of Sedgefield's Tudor clubhouse.

Fans found it a bit more annoying. Many left the course during the delay to find their cars mired in mud at the tournament's public parking lot. Officials offered free towing to fans, some of whom had to wade through ankle-deep muck to get to their cars.

That forced tournament officials to move public parking to the Greensboro Coliseum for the rest of the tournament. Fans still must pay $5 unless they show a Thursday ticket, in which case they can park free for their troubles.

Back to golf. For Reavie, Snedeker and Moore, the secret to being Thursday's clubhouse leaders was no secret, really: Show up early, rack up the birdies and get out of there before the rain dampened the spirits and scorecards of everyone else.

"It was nice getting most of the round in and not having to think about things," Moore said.

Nobody did that better than Reavie, who was standing over a 10-inch putt for par on No. 9, his last hole, when tour officials called golfers off the course because of lightning. Reavie might have been your first-round leader all by himself had he not rushed his birdie putt after a crack of thunder. "I should have waited," he said.

Reavie needed just 28 putts in a round that included seven birdies and one bogey. It was a day Reavie knew was coming.

"I've been hitting the ball well for the last month or so," he said. "I just hadn't been able to make any putts. The putter woke up today."

Like Reavie, Snedeker woke up Thursday, looked out the window at the gathering clouds, walked out into the oppressive heat and thought to himself: "It's going to be a nice day."

After a disappointing start to the year, Snedeker has been hot, finishing in the top five in three of his last six tournaments. Even after missing the cut at the PGA Championship last week, Snedeker was excited about this week.

"I couldn't wait to get to the first tee," he said. "Golfers will tell you, when you're playing good and you know you're doing the right stuff, you can't wait to get to the first tee. This week — the last six, seven weeks — has been like that for me."

The 2007 Wyndham champion cracked a rib at the Masters. He took nine weeks off to recover, which wasn't a big deal considering he was missing more cuts (nine) than he was making (four).

What do golfers do when they're not on the course? Turns out, a lot of nothing.

"Watched a lot of TV and movies, lot of Golf Channel. Read a lot of papers," Snedeker said. "Wasn't very much fun. After one week I was itching to get back out on the road."

He couldn't, of course. A golf swing — even one as sugary as Snedeker's, doesn't go well with a cracked rib. The pain was too much.

"I understand why people have addiction problems with painkillers because they're fantastic," he said.

"I have no worries where I'm hitting it or putting it," he said. "I can't wait to get out there again tomorrow."

Unfortunately for Snedeker, he will have to wait. Seventy-eight players were still on the course when tour officials halted play at 7:58 p.m. They'll resume play this morning and start the second round about 9:30 a.m. That means a cut line won't be determined until Saturday morning.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com