Sao Paulo, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - Tommy Gainey carded a 7-under 64 in the second round on Friday and he held a 1-shot lead when play was suspended due to threatening weather at the Brasil Champions.
All members of the afternoon groups were still on the course when play was called for the day around 4:10 p.m. ET after multiple lengthy delays throughout Friday. Players will be back in position to continue their second rounds on Saturday at 6 a.m. ET.
All morning pairings were able to conclude their second rounds. Gainey finished 36 holes one shot ahead of Ryan Spears at 12-under-par 130. Gainey, the 2012 McGladrey Classic winner on the PGA Tour, also has two career wins on the Web.com Tour, both of which came in 2010.
"The hardest thing about this golf course is that the greens are hard to read," said Gainey. "My caddie has done a wonderful job of reading them so far. I've done a good job of them as well, which has surprised me because I'm not the best at it."
Spears also fired a 64 at Sao Paulo Golf Club and he is within one shot at 11- under 131. Tyler Duncan (64) and Cameron Wilson (65) sit one shot further back and they are tied for third at minus-10.
First-round leader Matt Weibring shot a 2-under 69, putting him in a tie for fifth at 9-under. Rick Cochran and Peter Malnati are also at minus-9, but they are still playing their second rounds. Cochran is through nine holes, while Malnati is through five.
Starting the day two shots behind the leader Weibring, Gainey surged up the leaderboard with a great beginning to his round.
The 39-year-old started off with a par at the first before rolling in four birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 2, including three straight from four.
Gainey coasted for a while as he made six straight pars from seven. He then traded a birdie on 13 for a bogey on 14, which was the only blemish on Gainey's scorecard Friday.
Following a pair of pars on 15 and 16, Gainey rolled in an eagle at the par-5 17th and concluded his round in a big way with another gain at the last to take a 1-shot lead.
"I've been hitting it pretty good for a long time now, but as we all know, in golf you've got to make putts to shoot low numbers and have a chance to win," Gainey said. "You've got to make putts and that's what happened today, just like yesterday."
Spears, playing the back nine first, jumped out to a quick start as well with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11. After a trio of pars from 12, he rolled in another gain on 15.
After a bogey on 17, Spears drained three more birdies in a four-hole span from 18, getting him to minus-9 overall.
Spears finished up well with birdies on six and nine to go along with four pars, leaving him just one shot off the pace when play was called for the day.
Duncan went bogey-free in his round with seven birdies, while Wilson also made seven birdies and tripped to one bogey on six.
NOTES: First-round play was also suspended on Thursday and was concluded Friday morning ... Gainey's Web.com wins in 2010 came at the Melwood Prince George's County Open and the Chiquita Classic ... Gainey played his last two events on the PGA Tour, missing the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro- Am and the Puerto Rico Open last week ... Play was delayed from 11 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. ET and was later stopped again at 2:55 p.m. ET. Play never resumed after that ... Jamie Lovemark withdrew prior to the start of the second round due to illness ... James Nitties had the low round of the day with an 8-under 63. He is tied for 33rd at 5-under 137.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.