SAN DIEGO - The fog showed up out of nowhere at the Buick Invitational.

In some respects, so did Tom Lehman.

Lehman hasn't won since the 2000 Phoenix Open, and he hasn't made the last two Ryder Cup teams or played in the last three Tour Championships. At age 45, he seemed to be slipping quietly into the twilight of his career.

But it all started to turn around last season, especially when the Ryder Cup captain played in the final group his last three tournaments. His game is looking better than ever at Torrey Pines.

Lehman made two birdies to regain the lead Friday, then waited out a three-hour fog delay and left everyone behind with two more birdies to close out a 5-under 67 on the tough South course and tie the 36-hole tournament record.

"I can think about the what-ifs," Lehman said. "But over the last couple of rounds, in the last couple of months, I've been able to think more about just playing the shots. Your good golf always comes when you're not thinking about the results. You're just thinking about executing."

The results so far are not too shabby.

Closing his second round with four straight birdies - after finishing with six straight birdies Thursday on the North course - Lehman was at 15-under 129 to tie the record set by Lennie Clements in 1996.

The size of his lead was not settled when he walked off Torrey Pines.

What had been another spectacular day along the cliffside course turned white and soupy, forcing a three-hour delay because players could hardly see down the fairway.

Peter Lonard of Australia was at 12 under when the second round was suspended by darkness. He still gets to play the par-5 ninth on the North course.

Tiger Woods, who lost seven pounds last week fighting the flu, birdied his last two holes and was at 11 under par and still had the reachable par-5 18th to play.

They were among 59 players who had to return at 7:30 a.m. Saturday to complete the second round.

Only 91 players completed their rounds, including Vijay Singh (69 for a 4-under 140, 11 shots out of the lead); Ernie Els (71 for an 8-under 136); and Phil Mickelson (67 for a 5-under 139).

Luke Donald, who lost in a three-way playoff last year, had a 67 and was at 9-under 135.

Six players withdrew without finishing.

It's hard to blame Mark Calcavecchia. He was 6 over par, standing on the 18th tee on the North course, waiting for the fairway to clear so Kevin Sutherland could tee off. Sutherland realized he didn't have a tee in his pocket, went to his bag, and was ready to hit when the horn sounded because of the fog delay.

Calcavecchia headed home, and Sutherland had his shoes on waiting to go to his hotel when players were told to return to the course at 4:15 p.m. PST.

Sutherland hit his drive and wasn't sure where it landed until he walked up the fairway. Billy Harmon, the caddie for Jay Haas, had signaled that it was in the fairway.

"I couldn't see you," Sutherland replied. He wound up with a two-putt birdie and was done at 10-under 134, along with Dudley Hart (69).

Hart thought he was safe from the fog when he finished the holes along the ocean. He finished the par-5 sixth when the horn caught him by surprise - but not for long.

"I looked back down the sixth fairway and I couldn't see anything," he said. "It's crazy. It could be the most beautiful day you could ever expect, and all of a sudden you couldn't see 100 yards in front of you."

Lehman is seeing everything just fine.

Even playing the more difficult South course - site of the 2008 U.S. Open - didn't keep Lehman from believing he could post a good number. And that's what he did, despite not hitting the ball as well as he did in the first round.

Lehman was among the few who didn't mind the fog in the least.

"I was struggling a bit with my swing, and I thought the break actually helped me out," he said. "I went to the range, hit balls for an hour and a half, and felt like I got back on rhythm again."

Woods is finding his groove, too, feeling stronger after battling the flu.

He started with a flourish, 2-foot birdie putts on the first two holes, an 8-footer on the third, a 31 on the front nine, then hit his stride in the gloaming.

"I didn't quite feel my best," Woods said. "I went back to the room and crashed, and made sure Stevie (Williams) was awake enough where he could keep calling and see what the (restart) times were doing."

Still, 11 under with a chance to be in the final group Saturday is nothing to sniff at.

"I'll take right where I am," Woods said.