GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) – Tiger Woods threw his hands in the air, smiled and laughed.

His eagle from a bunker on his first hole Friday still wasn’t nearly enough to close the big gap between himself and Buick Open leader Chris DiMarco, who is 13 under after an 8-under 64 in the rain-delayed second round.

Woods was 5 under through 15 holes and will be five strokes behind DiMarco on Saturday when he finishes the second round, which was delayed for five hours because of lightning and heavy rain and was later suspended by darkness.

Woods started the day 3 under – 10 strokes behind DiMarco – in his final tuneup before playing the PGA Championship in two weeks, his last chance this season to win a major.

David Sutherland and Paul Gow shot 67s and were two shots behind DiMarco, who finished his round in perfect conditions well before the weather delay.

Woods was lining up an 18-foot birdie putt at No. 4 when the weather alarm blared at Warwick Hills forcing players to stop play and fans to seek shelter. He looked up and grinned at a blue sky sprinkled with white clouds.

The PGA Tour decided to call for the delay because a storm was expected to reach the course within 15 minutes. However, it didn’t start to rain for about two hours.

Gow agreed with the decision.

“They have got to worry about the spectators and the players,” he said.

The delay lasted for another two hours before the players were allowed to start practicing and resume the round.

DiMarco, who began the second round 5 under, fell to 4 under before putting together nine birdies over the next 12 holes.

DiMarco, third in two of the first four tournaments this year, has seven top 10 finishes and is 14th on the money list. He has won one tournament in each of the last three seasons.

Bowie seizes Women’s British Open lead

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England – Annika Sorenstam slipped four shots off the pace Friday, and Heather Bowie shot a 66 to lead by two strokes halfway through the Women’s British Open as she bids for her first tournament victory.

While defending champion Karrie Webb struggled with a par-72 that put her at 5-under 139, Sorenstam had a chance to make a charge in a championship which has given her three runners up checks but never the title.

The Swede, who started out at 4 under, mustered just three birdies and had three bogeys in her 72 to finish at 4-over 140 for a share of ninth place.

Bowie, who tied for second in April at El Caballero, Calif., for her best result in three years on the LPGA Tour, birdied five of the first 10 holes and also made a 3 at the tough par-4 17th to post a score of 8-under 136.

She made a 65 in the second round at last year’s championship at Turnberry, tying her best score as a pro.

“I’d say that was my best competitive round and this one was just as good,” said Bowie, of Fort Worth, Texas. “I don’t know what it about Fridays at the British.”

She leads South Korea’s Se Ri Pak, a four-time major champion and 2001 British Open winner, and Wendy Ward by two strokes. Pak, who had a terrible first visit to Lytham as a rookie in 1998, posted her second 69 for a halfway score of 138.

“This was wholly different from ’98. I have very bad memories of that time,” said Pak, who tied for 34th on her first visit after three rounds in the high 70s.

“After that I learned a lot about my game and became much smarter.”

Ward, who tied for the lead after an opening round 67, shot a 71. She dropped shots early on but rallied with a stretch of three birdies in four holes.

, plus another birdie on No. 11.

Patricia Meunier Lebouc, winner of the first major of the year – the Nabisco at Mission Hills – also was at 5 under after a 69 as was Lorena Ochoa after her 65. The Mexican made seven birdies in a bogey-free round.

Japan’s Akiko Fukushima, who won the amateur trophy at the same tournament 12 years ago at 17, was at 5 under. She picked up six strokes in nine holes, beginning at the seventh, amid wind and showers in the morning and sunshine and calm in the afternoon.

“This week the conditions were softer than I had expected so that helped a little bit,” the Japanese said after her 67 left her at 139. “But they also weren’t made easy because of the rain.”

She said she remembered little about being the lowest scoring amateur at Woburn in 1991 when she tied for 22nd.

“All I remember was that I couldn’t take the trophy back to Japan,” she said. “I wanted it so bad but I couldn’t bring it back because it has to stay in England.”

Italy’s Diana Luna played the last nine holes in 55 for a 95 that included a 12 at the 14th and a 10 at the last.

AP-ES-08-01-03 1310EDT