Virginia Water, England — U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen was the only winner on a rainy opening day of the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth on Thursday, beating Jeff Maggert by a record 12 and 11.

Retief Goosen waits under an umbrella during the World Match Play Championship. Rain interrupted play, and Goosen was the only player to win a match Thursday in Virginia Water, England.

Goosen’s margin of victory exceeded the previous record in the 36-hole matches of 11 and 10, when Mark O’Meara beat Vijay Singh in the second round in 1998.

Because of a 21/2-hour rain delay at the start of the day, seven of the eight matches were suspended by darkness with the players still on the course, including defending champion Ernie Els. The South African recovered from a morning deficit to lead Scotland’s Scott Drummond 2-up with two holes to play. Top-ranked Singh trailed European Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer by two holes after 26.