Akron, Ohio ? Free from the burden of trying to make the Ryder Cup team, Stewart Cink looked at ease Thursday on a marathon day at the NEC Invitational that ended with his name atop the leaderboard.

Three days after he was a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, Cink made five birdies on his first 10 holes on soggy Firestone South to lead by one shot over Rod Pampling when the rain-delayed first round was suspended by darkness.

“I was playing really well out there,” Cink said. “And with these conditions … it’s playing vulnerable.”

Steady overnight rain, which got heavier Thursday morning, made the fairways so soft and wet that players were allowed to lift, clean and place their ball for the first time at Firestone since 1997.

But with a five-hour delay at the start and another hour late in the afternoon, only 16 players in the 76-man field finished their round. The rest will return this morning.

Pampling was 4 under through 12 holes.

Tiger Woods had the lead to himself until he finished with back-to-back bogeys, both times missing 8-foot putts, and fell two shots off the lead. He was 3 under through 17.

“They didn’t start on time,” Woods said, referring to the one-hour delay in the afternoon. “They started seven minutes late, or we would have been done with the 17th and on 18 right now.”

Woods might need to win this week to remain No. 1 in the world ranking, and Firestone is one of his favorite courses. He won three straight times and never has finished worse than fifth.

He was tied with Zach Johnson (12 holes) and Carlos Franco (11 holes) at 3 under.

PGA champion Vijay Singh only has to finish ahead of Woods this week to become No. 1 for the first time in his career. He shot 73.

“It’s the last thing on my mind,” Singh said. “I want to have a good tournament, and then evaluate the ranking at the end of the week.”

Ernie Els also has a chance to reach No. 1. He was at 1 under through 11 holes.

Cink didn’t seem to mind the weather delays. He has played well his last three tournaments, enough for Hal Sutton to pick him for the Ryder Cup and leave Cink to worry only about playing good golf.

“I’m glad to be picked, but it really is more of an indication of the way I’ve been playing,” Cink said.

Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and Thomas Levet of France were at 68, making them the clubhouse leaders.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson missed a slew of putts inside 10 feet and was at 2 over par with three holes left to play.

Green, Moore advance; Levin out at Amateur

Mamaroneck, N.Y. — Danny Green, the oldest player in the field, moved into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur with a 2-up victory over Spencer Levin on Thursday, and NCAA champion Ryan Moore also advanced by rallying in the final five holes to beat Aron Price 1-up.

The 47-year-old Green, from Jackson, Tenn., defeated James Allenby of Canada 4 and 3 in a morning, and surprised the 20-year-old Levin, who finished 13th at the U.S. Open in June.

Moore, the top-seeded player who also has wins in the U.S. Amateur Public Links and Western Amateur this year, was three down with five holes to play. But Price, an Australian who attends Georgia Southern, finished with two double bogeys and three bogeys at Winged Foot Golf Club to give away the match.

Moore won his morning match, 6 and 4 over Greg Peterson, from Rochester, Minn. He takes on Jason Hartwick, from Sacramento, Calif., in the quarterfinals. Hartwick eliminated Tim Hogart, from Northridge, Calif., 3 and 2 in the third round.

The semifinals are Saturday, and the 36-hole final Sunday.

Green, runner-up in 1989, was confident he could hang in with the kids.

“It is one match tomorrow and I will feel fine,” Green said. “It is another on Saturday and if I were to make the finals I am sure that would be a struggle. It might look like I am getting tired, but I am not.”

Other quarterfinalists are four-time Winged Foot club champion Andrew Svoboda, from Stamford, Conn.; British Amateur semifinalist Luke List, from Ringgold, Ga.; Big Ten Conference player of the year Jeff Overton; Chris Nallen of Hackettstown, N.J.; and Dayton Rose of Midwest City, Okla.

Rookie leads at Reno;

Wiebe, Williams one back

Reno, Nev. — Rookie Roland Thatcher shot a 6-under-par 66 to take the early lead at the rain-delayed Reno-Tahoe Open.

Thatcher, a former Auburn golfer in his first season on the PGA Tour, birdied his first four holes and six of his first eight.

Mark Wiebe and Mark Wilson were a stroke back after 67s, and Corey Pavin was in a group another shot back at 68.

Rain and lightning delayed play for more than four hours, and about half the 132-player field still was on the course when play was suspended because of darkness. Play is to resume early today, with the second round to follow at the 7,472-yard Montreux Golf and Country Club.

Mark Calcavecchia came within a foot of a hole-in-one on his last hole of the day. He tapped in for birdie at the 171-yard, par-3 second to get to 5 under with seven holes remaining.