SEOUL (Reuters) - Australia's Marcus Fraser retained his lead after the completion of the first round of the Ballantine's Championship, which was reduced to three rounds on Friday because of weather disruption.
Fraser was one of just 36 players who managed to complete their first rounds on Thursday when fog prevented six hours of play at the $2.9 million European and Asian Tour event.
His seven-under-par 65 was sufficient to retain a one stroke lead from Briton Mark Foster and Argentine Tano Goya after all players had completed their first 18 holes at the Pinx Golf Club on Jeju island.
U.S. PGA Championship winner Yang Yong-eun had a disappointing round on his home island, starting the day at one-under after the one hole he played on Thursday but falling to a 77 and a share of 133rd.
Despite an early morning start on Friday to try and clear the backlog, tournament directors decided to reduce the event to 54 holes and ensure a Sunday finish.
"After reviewing the amount of golf completed yesterday, it has become clear that the completion of 72 holes within the required time frame is not feasible," tournament directors John Paramor and Jitti Tamprasert said in a statement.
The cut will be made after the second round is completed on Saturday with the top 65 and ties going through to the final round on Sunday. (Writing by Nick Mulvenney in Beijing, editing by Patrick Johnston and Peter Rutherford)
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