NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. - Brian Stuard shot an 8-under-par 64 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship.
Play was stopped twice in the afternoon for a total of 2 hours, 35 minutes because of rain and lightning, with 30 players unable to finish before dark.
After dropping a stroke on the par-4 18th hole to finish his opening nine, Stuard birdied five of the next six in a morning round at Keene Trace Golf Club.
"I felt like my iron play was nice today," Stuard said. "I didn't think I drove it well, but there's not a lot of rough, so you can kind of attack from anywhere, so that's what I was able to do."
Baylor School graduate Luke List, who tied for fourth Sunday at the John Deere Classic but was unable to secure a spot in the British Open, continued to play well by shooting a 65 that included an eagle on the par-4 sixth hole. He also had seven birdies.
List made a birdie on the par-4 17th after the second rain delay to join Stuard at 8 under, then drove into the water on the right side of the closing hole, leading to his second bogey of the round.
"Long day," List said. "There's birdies to be made on this golf course, so I kind of knew that I had to be aggressive out there, and I was fortunate to be able to make some birdies and one eagle. Had a few bogeys, but overall I played well."
He had plenty of company in second place on the leaderboard: Ryan Armour, Joseph Bramlett, Scott Harrington, David Lingmerth, Taylor Pendrith, J.T. Poston and Vaughn Taylor each finished off a 65, and Will Grimmer, Patrick Rodgers and Stephen Stallings Jr. also were at 7 under when darkness stopped play. Rodgers and Stallings had two holes left and Grimmer three.
With more openings in the field due to this event being played opposite the year's final major championship tournament, several regulars on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour are at the Barbasol Championship.
Eric Axley, a native of Athens, Tennessee, was tied for 44th after a 69. Stephen Jaeger, who played at Baylor and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was at par with three holes remaining in his round.
Stuard won the rain-shortened Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2016 for his lone PGA Tour title. The 38-year-old from Michigan tied for eighth at the John Deere Classic.
"It was a good start, but in all honesty, it doesn't really mean much," he said. "I need three more good rounds to put myself in contention, I guess. It's nice to start off well. I need three more, so just got to keep going."