BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The second round of the Australian PGA championship was washed out Friday due to rain and an unplayable course and the tournament has been shortened to 54 holes.
Officials for the Australasian PGA Tour and European Tour event made the announcement more than five hours after the first group was scheduled to tee off at Royal Queensland.
There had been about 25 millimeters (one inch) of rain overnight Thursday, adding to the 200 millimeters (eight inches) that had hit the course earlier in the week. Rain began falling heavily again on the course as the decision was made to abandon Friday's play and reduce the tournament to three rounds.
Organizers were hampered by the fact that Queensland state, where the tournament is being played, does not operate on daylight time, meaning play beyond 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. was not possible.
The weather forecast for the weekend was for improved conditions.
Australian 22-year-old Elvis Smylie, son of former tennis pro Liz Smylie, led after the first round with a 6-under 65. He had a one-stroke lead over French player Victor Perez, Australian Matias Sanchez, Switzerland's Joel Girrbach and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar, who birdied four of his last five holes on a soggy course on Thursday afternoon.
Local drawcards and major winners Cameron Smith and Jason Day, in his first Australian event in seven years, were two shots behind Smylie after 67s.
Min Woo Lee, who won last year's tournament at Royal Queensland, shot 68 and was three strokes off the lead. Lee, Day and Smith were in the same group Thursday.
The Australian PGA is the first event of the 2025 European Tour season.
Many of the same players will travel to Melbourne next week for the Australian Open, also on the European Tour, which is being played concurrently with the Women's Australian Open at famed sandbelt courses Kingston Heath and Victoria.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Min Woo Lee of Australia, left, Justin Rose of England, centre, and Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark prepare to plays their second shot at the 3rd hole during the second round of Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by LeBron James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute, and the Milwaukee Bucks blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 105-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points, and he hit two free throws to break a tie after Antetokounmpo blocked a driving layup attempt by James with 39 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo then knocked the ball out of James' hands from behind with 2 seconds left, and Porter hit two more free throws to seal Milwaukee's fifth win in seven games — its first over a team with a winning record since Dec. 11. Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points in his lowest-scoring effort since returning from his right calf strain.
Luka Doncic had 24 points and nine assists on 8-of-25 shooting for the Lakers. He had his lowest-scoring performance since Christmas, and he fouled out on Porter's 3-point attempt with 16.2 seconds to play.
James had 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but Antetokoumpo got the best of the top scorer in NBA history at crunch time. Los Angeles has lost six of 10.
Milwaukee surged to a double-digit lead in the first half even with Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction in his injury return. Doncic scored 12 points in the third quarter but also committed four fouls in the period, including his fifth of the game.
Los Angeles abruptly erased its deficit by going on a 17-4 run to open the fourth, with James putting the Lakers ahead when he stole the ball from Antetokounmpo for a layup with 6:02 left. Milwaukee missed nine of its first 12 shots in the period, but Porter's layup tied it with two minutes left.
Lakers starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura remain sidelined by injury, but Hachimura (calf) might return early next week from his six-game absence, coach JJ Redick said.
Bucks: At Denver on Sunday.
Lakers: At Sacramento on Monday.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart, left, tries to shoot as Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
