1.   But the hole was not nearly as scary Monday because rain had softened the green overnight and there was little wind.

2.   Heavy rain Friday night softened the greens, allowing players to fire freely at the pins.

3.   May found himself six shots behind the front-running Woods before the first thunderstorm had softened the greens.

4.   Most of the golfers in the field were able to attack the pins with approach shots because intermittent rain had softened the greens.

5.   Overcast skies and the absence of wind kept greens softened by rain earlier in the week from drying out and becoming hard and fast.

6.   Pinehurst played more like Pinehurst Friday than it did on Thursday, when rain softened the greens and gave players more margin for error on their approach shots.

7.   Rain Thursday and Friday softened the greens, allowing players to fire approach shots at the pins and diminishing the speed of the greens.

8.   The greens had been softened.

9.   The heavy rains softened the greens, but the winds whistled out of various directions, causing havoc.

10.   The weather forecast was for a thunderstorm on Saturday evening, which could soften the greens that have been hard and fast.