Hicks leads delayed Rex Hospital Open

Raleigh, NC – Justin Hicks posted his second straight five- under 66 on Friday to take the lead during the suspended second round of the Rex Hospital Open.

Hicks is in at 10-under 132, but half of the field has to finish the second round as inclement weather at the TPC Wakefield Plantation on Friday set the tournament back.

There were two weather stoppages on Friday and shortly after the horn blew for the second one, play was called for the day.

Golfers will be back at 8:00 a.m. (et) Saturday morning to complete round two. The cut will be made and the third round is scheduled to begin around 12:30 p.m. with players in threesomes teeing off both the first and 10th tees.

Jim Renner, the first-round leader, is one-under through six holes of round two and is second at nine-under par.

Shane Bertsch and Jeff Curl both had rounds of two-under 69 and share third at eight-under 134. B.J. Staten and Oscar Serna are eight-under, but still have to finish their rounds.

Hicks had three feet for par before thunderstorms rolled in and the first suspension took place. He waited almost two hours before he converted to get to 10-under par.

"It's just part of the game," said Hicks. "You can't really pick and choose when you have delays like that. I would have liked it to have been a little shorter. You just have to go up there and hit it like any other shot that's part of a round. It wasn't something I could go completely brain dead on."

Hicks, who mixed seven birdies and two bogeys on Friday, is 15th on the money list and is poised to return to the PGA Tour, where he was a rookie last season.

He has three top 10s so far in 2012 and qualified for the British Open two weeks ago in Texas. On Monday, Hicks will head to Ohio to try and qualify for the U.S. Open in less than two weeks.

"I'm playing some good golf and there's no reason why good golf here can't translate to good golf there," said Hicks. "The golf ball doesn't know who's hitting it and you don't have to be ranked in the top-10 in the world to be good at this game. You go out there and make birdies and it doesn't matter who you're playing against or what course it's on."

Reid Edstrom (70) and James Hahn (68) are in at minus-seven, while Scott Parel and Steven Bowditch are on the course at seven-under.

Defending champion Kyle Thompson, who can become the first player in Nationwide Tour history to successfully defend a title and win the same event three times, is two-under through five holes of round two and three-under for the tournament.

NOTES: Hicks owns two Nationwide Tour wins...Ben Briscoe, Luke Hickmott and Craig Bowden all withdrew prior to the second round, then Shawn Stefani and Ryan Armour pulled out during the round.