The Travelers Championship

Still no word on when we might get a restart at the Travelers Championship, or whether or not that will be today. We’re about four hours into the rain delay.

“They’ll use every second of daylight that they can,” Tournament Director Nathan Grube said of PGA Tour officials.

Sunset is about 8:30 p.m. tonight, FYI.

As for the course, there aren’t too many concerns about it after the rain stops.

“In ’09 there was probably the most rain I’d ever seen. That was a ton,” Grube said. “There were courses here that were completely under water and our course was fine. It drains really, really well.”

The radar looks a little better than it did two hours ago, but the PGA hasn’t made any decisions yet.

“From a competition standpoint, the tour makes those calls,” Grube said. “They keep me informed and they just said ‘We have to wait and see.’ ”

Joined by Kris Blanks, the leader in the clubhouse with a 2-under-par 68 today. Kris, your thoughts?

Thanks, Kris.

A spectator walks past a scoreboard after play was suspended due to inclement weather during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell on Thursday. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Rain/thunder/lightning has halted play at 11:28 a.m. here at the TPC.

Michael Bradley is alone on top for now. He’s 6-under through 16 holes.

Seven golfers are a shot back at 5-under, including Vijay Singh and Fredrick Jacobson. Singh, however, just pushed his tee shot on No. 15 into the shrubs and may be faced with a lost ball situation. Edit: A note as the delay passes the three-hour mark: The AP’s Pat Eaton-Robb reported that Singh found his ball eventually.

Zach Johnson hits his second shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament in Cromwell Thursday. (AP Photo/Fred Beckham)

Round 1 of the Travelers Championship is under way here in Cromwell.

Zach Johnson and Andres Romero have the lead as we type at 4-under. Five straight birdies by the former, from 12-through-16, have him at the head of the field.

Rain is in the forecast, perhaps only an hour away, but until then there’s plenty of golf to be played.

As we get ready for Round 1:

–Bubba Watson plays his first pro tournament as defending champ.

–Jim Furyk has tinkered with his game a lot after last year’s successes.

–J.J. Henry: you may have heard of him.

–Notes from the TPC.

–And elsewhere in state golf, locals are well-represented among the final eight at the state amateur.

Jim Furyk was asked about the future of American golf (which, not to spoil a possible note in tomorrow’s paper, he sees as bright).

“I think the American golf is probably a little better than what it’s been given credit for,” Furyk said, “but obviously it’s a worldwide game, and … a lot of these international guys, I think of them as members of our tour.

“I mean,” he continued, “Vijay (Singh) is a neighbor of mine. I don’t really think of Vijay as from Figi. He’s lived in Ponte Vedra (Fla.) for 20 years, and he’s played our tour exclusively for that amount of time. He’s not American, but I don’t really think of him as being foreign, if that makes sense.”

Furyk was on the 14th tee when the rain hit this morning, washing out the end of many morning pro-am rounds. The afternoon groups are expected to begin play at 2 p.m., two hours late, and they’ll only play nine holes.

Anthony Kim’s group teed off the 10th hole at 6:50 a.m. and leads the Traveler’s Celebrity Pro-Am after 12 holes at 6-under. Jim Calhoun’s group, which includes pro Ryan Moore and UConn asssitant coach George Blaney, is tied for second at 3-under. … Internet issues resolved, Mike “Game On” Fornabaio and I will be bringing you coverage from Cromwell today.

First- and second-round tee times are available on the PGA Tour’s site.

J.J. Henry plays at 12:22 p.m. off the 10th tee on Thursday, then 7:12 a.m. off the first tee on Friday.