Trace Crowe fired a 10-under-par 62 and built a two-shot lead before play was suspended due to darkness at the inaugural Austin Championship on Thursday in Texas.
Twenty-five players have holes to finish when play resumes Friday morning. The PGA Tour said the second round will begin at its regularly scheduled time.
Crowe had 10 birdies without a bogey to kick off his week at the Fazio Canyons Course at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa. He birdied five of his final six holes.
This is the penultimate event of the tour’s FedEx Cup Fall series, which has players scrambling to get inside the top 100 of the points race to ensure full status on tour for next year. Crowe began the week at No. 117 and, if he remains first when the tournament ends, he is projected to vault to No. 63.
The 30-year-old owns two top-10s this season but has yet to win on the PGA Tour.
Max Greyserman and South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen opened with 8-under 64s and Blades Brown is fourth at 7-under 65. Brown, 19, is fresh off winning the World Wide Technology Championship last week to become the first teenager to win on tour since Jordan Spieth as well as the fourth-youngest winner in tour history.
Ben Kohles, Rafael Campos of Puerto Rico, Kevin Yu of Taiwan and Kristoffer Ventura of Norway were tied for fifth at 6-under 66.
Of the 25 players who did not complete the first round, none are better than 5-under.